Thymic cancers are extremely rare, making up just 0.09% of new cancer diagnoses in the UK each year.

“There can be limited knowledge of these diseases, few treatment options and few specialists who understand them” says Karen Ruddock, founder and chair of ThymicUK – a charity providing support for thymic cancer patients and advocating for better treatments and research.

“The aim of the Thymic Cancer Awareness Month is to change this”, she continued.

The awareness month is a joint initiative of ThymicUK and ITMIG.
ITMIG is the leading organisation for the advancement of clinical and basic science of thymic malignancies and related conditions.

The awareness months will include:

• Webinars for patients
• Webinars for doctors
• Social media messages
• Interviews with mediastinal disease experts

ThymicUK will also be publishing patient stories, awareness materials, fundraising stories, as well as advice and resources for patients, family, friends and carers.

ITMIG and ThymicUK have put together a leaflet and infographic which outline some key information about these rare diseases: What thymic cancers are, common symptoms and how they are diagnosed and treated. “The leaflet is designed to be a resource for patients, health care professionals and members of the public, to increase their understanding of thymic cancers and help improve the outcomes of patients, now and in the future”, added Ruddock.

For more information, health care professionals, researchers and patients can visit the ITMIG (www.itmig.org) and ThymicUK (www.thymicuk.org) websites.