CORNWALL residents with a rare cancer called sarcoma may be forced to travel hundreds of miles to receive specialist care and treatment from the NHS.

Part of the Peninsula Soft Tissue Sarcoma Service at the Royal Cornwall Hospital in Truro is due to stop taking new sarcoma cancer patients at the end of October and could close by the end of January 2026.

The service’s other sites at Derriford Hospital in Plymouth, the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital, and the Teenage Young Adult service in Bristol, will not have any additional capacity to take new sarcoma patients from Cornwall.

About 5,300 people are diagnosed with soft tissue or bone sarcoma every year in the UK. Of these, between 30 and 40 new sarcoma cancer cases are dealt with by the Royal Cornwall Treliske Hospital every year, and about 125 by the Peninsula Service as a whole.

While more common cancers are diagnosed and treated by general local hospitals, sarcoma cancers are more difficult to diagnose and treat, so suspected cases must be referred to one of 15 specialist centres commissioned by NHS England on behalf of the Department of Health and Social Care.

The Peninsula Soft Tissue Sarcoma Service is one such centre, and is run by the Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust, University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust and Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust.

Bone and soft tissue cancer charity Sarcoma UK says if sarcoma cancer care is stopped at Truro without a plan for how Cornwall patients will be looked after by the Peninsula Service’s other sites, they may have to travel long distances outside their region to receive the care they need.

Representatives met St Ives MP Andrew George, a member of the House of Commons Health and Social Committee, who declared the situation “unacceptable” and said he had asked Health Ministers to step in to avoid “the treatment of Cornish patients as second-class citizens”.

“People with sarcoma already face unimaginable distress, without having to also worry whether they can routinely travel hundreds of miles for essential life-saving treatment,” he added.

“It’s wrong to plan to close an essential service without first considering and consulting on the consequences. Patients from my constituency, in west Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, could face the option of either a 230+ mile round trip to receive treatment, or to go without. The Government promised a shift of health services ‘close to home’. This is the opposite.”

Sarcoma UK has written to health service chiefs demanding to know what plans will be put in place to ensure patients receive the specialised care and treatment they need and has raised the issue with other MPs in the region.

Stephen Downes, 50, from Newquay, was diagnosed with myxofibrosarcoma in 2022. A type of soft tissue sarcoma cancer that affects the body’s fibrous connective tissues, this resulted in the extended full fore quarter amputation of his left arm.

“I’ve experienced first-hand how vital a fast diagnosis and treatment plan are,” he said. “Removing localised care, as is being proposed, would be a devastating blow for those diagnosed with sarcoma.

“Travelling hundreds of miles for scans, surgery, treatments or consultations isn’t just exhausting - it’s financially and emotionally draining. Patients are facing long journeys and higher costs at a time when they’re already vulnerable, and families shoulder much of that burden. Sarcoma doesn’t wait, and neither should our access to timely, equitable care.”

Sarcoma UK chief executive Richard Davidson warned that some patients would choose to have no treatment at all for their sarcoma rather than travel long distances. “It is already incredibly challenging for people who have to deal with a sarcoma diagnosis and treatment,” he said.

“Sarcoma patients can have large tumours which are often painful and impact mobility. As part of their treatment, they could require six to seven weeks of daily radiotherapy. Travelling long distances is very difficult and exhausting and will require financial support for both the patient and any carer. We hope that local health trusts and the Government will urgently resolve the situation.”

A Royal Cornwall Hospitals spokesperson said: “Whilst we are in discussion with colleagues in Devon to consider how we best provide specialist care for the small number of people with the most complex treatment needs for sarcoma, no decision has yet been made. The majority of patients will continue to receive most, or all, of their care in Cornwall, regardless of any change we may need to make.

“Due to a national shortage of oncologists with the highly specialist expertise required, clinicians across the Royal Cornwall Hospitals, University Hospital Plymouth and Royal Devon University Hospitals, already work closely in the management of patients with rare sarcoma.

“We have every intention of engaging with patient representatives, such as Sarcoma UK, to work through what any proposed change might mean to patients, if a small part of their care has to be provided outside of Cornwall to ensure they get the best care and best outcomes.”