Bone cancer awareness week: spot the symptoms early to prevent another tragic death...

Almost one in four were diagnosed after going to A&E, the stats from the Bone Cancer Research Trust (BCRT) show.

Hemel Hempstead man John Dealey wants to raise awareness of the charity’s work after he lost his 10-year-old son Adam to rare bone cancer Ewing’s sarcoma in 1995.

Adam died from the same condition that took the life of Gazette reporter Jonathan Saunders in 2012. He was 24.

Faster action by doctors could have changed the outcome for both of them.

Adam was diagnosed in October 1994 after suffering from pain in a rib and tiredness. He was wrongly diagnosed on three visits to doctors and hospital. He had chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatment, but lost the use of his legs.

His family went from being told to get Adam up and walking about to being told staff could do no more for him within 24 hours.

John is now a trustee of the BCRT, which has launched an e-module with the Royal College of GPs to help doctors spot the symptoms and refer patients sooner.

They may see just one or two cases of bone cancer in their whole career – but early prognosis can mean the difference between life and death.

John said that although conditions like Ewing’s sarcoma mainly affect children, they are often misdiagnosed.

He said: “There has been no real progress in 20 years.”

The BCRT is producing a leaflet to let people know about the symptoms of bone cancer, which are often mistaken for growing pains, sporting injuries or other common conditions.

This can mean that the bone cancer goes undiagnosed for as long as 18 months.

Former student of Hemel Hempstead’s John F Kennedy School James Wigg, now 17, developed bad leg pain when he was 13 – but was told by doctors to take painkillers when doing exercise.

It stopped him from playing football, when he came off during a game and told his mum Linda: “I can’t run anymore; the pain is awful.”

She took him back to a GP, who sent him for an X-ray, which then led to an MRI scan that revealed a large stage three osteosarcoma tumour.

This was around a year after he first began suffering from leg pain. He then had to go through chemotherapy and surgery to remove his left knee and replace it with a metal, prosthetic one.

James’ father Mick, brother Matt and several of his cousins ran the Royal Parks Half Marathon in London to raise money for the BCRT on Sunday.