The friends – Julia Young, Carmela Booth-Williams, Harriet Stevens, Lauren King and Sarah Edmonds – climbed Mount Snowdon on March 15 to raise funds for Sarcoma UK and generate “awareness in support of our amazing friend Gemma”, according to the group’s JustGiving page. 

32-year-old Gemma Phillips was terminally diagnosed with leiomyosarcoma in March 2022, 18 months after she first experienced pain. 

Leiomyosarcoma has about 525 cases diagnosed annually in England, and Sarcoma UK offers support for those with the cancer. It also campaigns for better treatments and fund vital research. 

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Julia Young said it is “honestly hard to think about how Gemma’s diagnosis has affected me as it just doesn’t feel real. She is an inspiration to us all and I am in utter awe of her and proud to be her friend.  

“Throughout this journey, she has never given up fighting and has lived her life to the full. She is constantly on the go whether that’s at the stables, out with her friends or going on holiday. 

“Even when she was failed by the people who are meant to look after our health, after not diagnosing her with leiomyosarcoma for a year-and-a-half, she hasn’t once shown any anger towards them.” 

@gemphillipsx They did it!! Yesterday on Saturday the 15th of March my wonderful friends completed their climb of Mount Snowdon, raising over an amazing £2,400 for Sarcoma UK. Thank you so, so much to everyone who donated. It means so much… and thank you so much girls for doing this🥹 Love you all so much and I’ll never be able to thank you enough. Can’t wait to give you all a big hug ❤️ Gem x #mountsnowdon #snowdonia #snowdonianationalpark #fundraising #sarcoma #sarcomauk #livingwithcancer #palliativecare #incurablecancer #terminalcancer #leiomyosarcoma #LMS #cancertok #cancer #cancersucks ♬ original sound - Noah Kahan

“Fobbed off” 

The pharmacy technician, from Wroughton near Swindon, has been documenting her story with leiomyosarcoma on TikTok and has over 100,000 likes on her page. 

Sarcoma UK said that Phillips first went to her GP in 2020 with back pain. An ultrasound found nothing, and she was told she may have irritable bowel syndrome. 

Phillips said the pain was “taking over my life” and after a referral to consultant, a scan found a 10cm tumour in her abdomen which was removed in May 2022. 

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After more back and side pain, another scan eighteen months later found three more tumours, and that the cancer was spreading so much that she was told she had 12 to 18 months to live. 

Phillips admitted she was “really frustrated at the way I was treated. If I had been diagnosed earlier, it would have potentially prevented a lot of suffering. But I was just fobbed off with painkillers. I was turned away constantly. I was thinking, ‘am I going mad?’”

Sarcoma UK’s director of research Dr Sorrel Bickley said early detection is “vital with sarcomas, but equally important is developing effective treatments for patients with advanced disease”. 

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Bickley said Sarcoma UK had committed over £600,000 to five groundbreaking research projects specifically targeting leiomyosarcoma.  

“These studies range from exploring immunotherapy combinations and creating tumour ‘avatars’ to investigating the cellular matrix and identifying genetic markers that predict drug effectiveness. 

“While these studies won’t change Gemma’s incurable diagnosis today, they represent our commitment to transforming the future landscape of leiomyosarcoma treatment – potentially extending lives, reducing side effects, and eventually moving toward personalised medicine approaches that match the right treatment to each individual patient.”