Bone cancer victim, 21, opts for leg amputation after doctors warn it's her only hope of survival after disease spreads to her lungs

  • Sophie Walton was diagnosed with bone cancer in 2011 after discovering a lump on her foot months after breaking her leg
  • By the time the disease was detected it had already spread to her lungs 
  • Doctors told the now 21-year-old her best chance was to amputate her leg
  • Without hesitation she agreed, saying: 'I had to give myself the best chance'
  • In February this year, Miss Walton was given the all-clear from cancer
  • She said: 'I was left with no leg, no hair and I had to drop out of university'
  • 21-year-old is now looking forward and has enrolled at veterinary college 

By Lizzie Parry for MailOnline

Published: 09:24 EST, 2 September 2014 | Updated: 15:06 EST, 2 September 2014

A young cancer victim took the brave but life-saving decision to amputate her leg below the knee after doctors warned the disease could spread.

Sophie Walton, from Upminster in Havering, was diagnosed with bone cancer in 2011.

By the time the disease was detected it had already spread to her lungs. 

Specialists told the now 21-year-old, her only chance of survival was to remove her right leg below the knee.

Without hesitation Miss Walton agreed, putting her faith in her medical team, and has since been told she is free of the disease.

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Sophie Walton, 21, from Upminster, was diagnosed with bone cancer in 2011. By the time the disease was detected it had already spread to her lungs

Specialists told Miss Walton her only chance of survival was to amputate her right leg below the knee

Specialists told Miss Walton her only chance of survival was to amputate her right leg below the knee

She said: 'I underwent a high dose of chemo but after seven rounds I was told it wasn't effective.

'My surgeon called me in and said, "how would you feel if I said you need your leg amputated?"

'I was shocked, the lump I'd initially found was on my foot so it didn't cross my mind that I might lose my leg.

'I completely trusted my surgeon and I didn't have any other choice.

'My first concern was, 'how am I going to wear a bikini or dresses on holiday?'

'I was devastated but I tried not to think about it.'

Miss Walton first spotted a lump on her right foot after a night out with friends.

Doctors thought she had broken her foot - something an X-ray later confirmed, but when the bone failed to heal properly, she was given an MRI scan which highlighted an abnormal growth.

By the time her bone cancer was diagnosed it had already spread to her lungs

Just one week after her surgeon delivered the shocking news that she may need her leg amputation, the operation went ahead. 

She said: 'I was pain free when I woke up but I didn't feel relieved.

'I remember looking down and being able to see and feel one leg but not the other.

'It was hard at first but as soon as I got home we moved my room downstairs and I used a wheelchair to get around.

'It took a few weeks for my stump to heal properly and for my prosthesis to be fitted.'

Before having her amputation the 21-year-old had gruelling rounds of chemotherapy to try and shrink the cancer in her lungs.

She said: 'It was really scary when we were told it had spread to my lungs as I knew that would be hard to treat.'

She said: 'I was shocked, the lump I'd initially found was on my foot so it didn't cross my mind that I might lose my leg. I completely trusted my surgeon and I didn't have any other choice'

Miss Walton made the brave decision to trial a new drug - a stronger form of chemotherapy, that could save her life but would leave her infertile.

'I had to give myself the best chance of survival,' she said. 'I had plenty of time in the future to think about how I would have children.

'I'd already lost my thick, long blonde hair with the first lot of chemotherapy.' 

After finishing her trial drug treatment Miss Walton's health took another turn for the worst.

She had a low liver function and her gull bladder had become inflamed.

Doctors diagnosed her with veno-occlusive disease (VOD) - a condition in which some of the small veins in the liver are obstructed and is a known complication of high-dose chemotherapy.

 I had to give myself the best chance of survival

She said: 'It's a rare complication but it turned my eyes yellow and I was in hospital for around six weeks before being released.'

But after a year of operations and treatment, in January 2013, Miss Walton was given the amazing news that the trial chemotherapy drug had worked, 90 per cent of the cancer in her lungs had disappeared.

In February, she underwent an operation to remove the remaining cancer nobles from her lungs.

Two weeks later she was given the all clear.

'I had check-ups every two months to begin with but now it's every three,' she said. 

'I also see a reproductive doctor as the chemo has left me completely infertile.

'The year I had cancer was definitely easier than the past year. I was left with no leg, no hair and I had to drop out of university.

'I felt as though I was starting everything from scratch.'

But with the support of her mother, Debra, 53, father, Steve, 59, step-dad, Richard, 52, and her two sisters, Rhyanna, 26 and Lara, 28, Miss Walton is now looking forward to the future.

She said: 'I've enrolled to do veterinary care at college this month which I can't wait to start.

'I have been on holiday a few times since losing my leg too. I know I'll be back wearing shorter dresses in no time.'

Julie Harrington, Bone Cancer Research Trust chief executive officer said: 'Sophie's fight back to fitness after her bone cancer diagnosis and amputation is a real triumph and inspiration, not only for her friend Mark, who will run in her honour, but also for others facing bone cancer.

'All funds raised by Team Bones participants in the Great North Run on Sunday, will help us ensure this charity drives forward even more research that will make this rare and devastating cancer a curable disease.

'Primary bone cancer is a cruel and degrading disease which affects 600 people in the UK and Ireland every year. Only half of these will survive and those who do are left with long-lasting physical and emotional scars.

'It is the third biggest cancer killer in young adults and children, and yet survival rates haven't improved in over 25 years.

'It's only through research and awareness that we can change these devastating statistics to help people like Sophie - today and tomorrow.

'Bone Cancer Research Trust fights to improve outcomes for primary bone cancer patients through research, awareness, information and support.' 

 

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