PE teacher has leg amputated after ‘harmless’ lump turned out to be rare cancer

Christmas 2022 was a happy time for Curnow Pirbhai-Clarke. He was newly married to wife Junaina, and the couple were excitedly planning their honeymoon to Canada.

At 31, Mr Pirbhai-Clarke enjoyed a healthy lifestyle, working as a PE teacher and competing in badminton at county level.

But early in the new year, he noticed a small lump on his right calf. His GP, however, was not concerned and diagnosed him with myositis ossificans, a condition whereby calcium deposits build up in a healing bruise, causing a hard bone-like structure within the muscle.

“It was tender like a bruise,” Mr Pirbhai-Clarke said. “I was told it was nothing serious and it would fix itself.”

Shortly before he discovered the lump, Mr Pirbhai-Clarke began to struggle with exhaustion, to the point where he handed in his notice for his job. “I thought I had career fatigue. My job is very physical and I thought I was just doing too much.”

But over the coming months, the lump grew and the pain grew progressively worse. Doctors carried out more scans and tests. The news was not good – he had a type of cancer called epithelioid sarcoma. “It was a shock to hear that but it was also a relief. I knew something was really wrong.

“By this stage I was bedbound due to the pain and unable to do a lot of things for myself,” he said.

Life-changing surgery

Mr Pirbhai-Clarke, from Rugby, did not have much time to process the diagnosis before he was dealt a further blow. “I noticed the lump last January and was told I had cancer at the end of May,” he said. “Then the doctors told me that by then it had advanced and the best course of treatment was an urgent amputation, above the knee to reduce the risk of the cancer spreading.”

While waiting for the surgery, his condition deteriorated and he was taken to A&E. “I was getting my words jumbled up and getting really confused. The tumour had been releasing calcium into my blood causing brain fog,” he said.

Despite the trauma of amputation, Mr Pirbhai-Clarke said that, after coming round from the operation and looking down and seeing his leg gone, he felt relief.

“I’d gotten so bad, physically and mentally. It was so refreshing to be able to think clearly again. I just had to get used to having one leg.”

About epithelioid sarcoma

Epithelioid sarcoma is a very rare type of soft tissue sarcoma that can occur anywhere throughout the body. It most often occurs in the hands, arms, feet and legs.

The cause of epithelioid sarcoma is unknown. But researchers think that it is caused by errors in a gene called SMARCB1. Researchers are still trying to find out why these errors happen and whether this causes epithelioid sarcoma.

There are an average of 19 cases of epithelioid sarcoma diagnosed every year in England.

Symptoms of epithelioid sarcoma can vary depending on the size and location of your tumour. You may experience all, some or none of these symptoms before you are diagnosed with epithelioid sarcoma:

• A lump or swelling within the soft tissue of the body under the skin, often in the hands, arms, feet and legs.
• This lump is usually hard but slow-growing and painless.
• These lumps often result in open sores called ulcers on the skin surface, which can be painful.

Source: Sarcoma UK

I’m the kind of person who does best when I have goals and challenges

Curnow Pirbhai-Clarke

But Mr Pirbhai-Clarke is doing more than just getting used to it. A badminton player since his university days, he has represented Cornwall, Middlesex and Warwickshire and competed on the national circuit.

Now he has vowed to “take that up a notch” and “come back better, faster, stronger” by setting his sights on playing for England in the UK Para Championships at the end of 2024, and then making Great Britain’s Para-Badminton team.

“I’m the kind of person who does best when I have goals and challenges,” he said.

Raring to go

Following the amputation, Mr Pirbhai-Clarke is now cancer free but his physical recovery has been slow and involved lots of physio.

“I’m now playing badminton in a wheelchair,” he said. “I’m raring to go but I have to accept the time that’s needed for my tissue to recover internally from the surgery.”

To have a chance at realising his sporting dreams, Mr Pirbhai-Clarke is in need of a sport-specific prosthetic leg which is expensive and isn’t available on the NHS.

His friends have so far managed to raise £3,000 towards the cost, and Mr Pirbhai-Clarke has has set up a GoFundMe appeal to raise the remaining £25,000.

There have been mental challenges to being ill and losing his leg too. “Junaina and I had just got married and then she became my carer. It’s now time to rediscover my marriage.

“I also think about the family and friends you lose touch with – I want to make more of an effort.”

2024 is going to be a challenging year. But now Mr Pirbhai-Clarke is on the road to recovery, he and Junaina plan to embrace the joys of life again and finally book that honeymoon.

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