Joining forces to fight cancer

Mid Dorset and North Poole MP, Annette Brooke, is joining forces with cancer campaigner, Hannah Stainer, to support Cancer Research UK.

Together they are highlighting Cancer Research UK’s work in the South West and backing the charity’s bid to make the region and the UK a thriving environment for medical research.

The campaigning duo met Cancer Research UK’s doctors, scientists and supporters – including South West researcher Professor Richard Martin, Reader in Clinical Epidemiology at Bristol University – at a special reception at Westminster recently (Tuesday 12 July).

As well as finding out more about the cutting edge research carried out in the South West, Ms Brooke heard that Cancer Research UK receives no Government funding and relies on the generosity of supporters, like Hannah, to fund its life-saving work.

Around three people are diagnosed with cancer every hour in the South West but the good news is that thousands of mums, dads, brothers, sisters, sons and daughters across the region are alive today thanks to research into cancer.

Ms Brooke, said: “I was very happy to meet Hannah and Cancer Research UK’s scientists, who told me more about the work funded by the charity at Bristol University and throughout the UK.  I feel proud that research in the South West makes such a significant contribution to the fight against cancer. It’s heartening to know that by supporting Cancer Research UK’s work local people could be making a big difference to cancer patients here on their doorstep.”

Cancer Research UK is calling on the Government to work in partnership with the scientific community to ensure that pioneering new research can be transferred from the lab bench to the patient’s bedside as quickly as possible.

Government Minister Anne Milton MP spoke at the Westminster reception and discussed the Government’s future plans for science and research in the UK.

Harpal Kumar, Chief Executive of Cancer Research UK, thanked Hannah and Ms Brooke for their support.

He said: “Cancer Research UK is working hard in every region of the UK to beat cancer. Ninety per cent of the population live within 30 miles of a laboratory or hospital where we’re funding life-saving research, which is funded entirely by the generosity of the public.

“We welcome the government’s recent commitments that will help us with the research we fund in the NHS. We now want the Government to involve Cancer Research UK in planning for the future of medical research in the UK.”

Cancer Research UK spent nearly £1.8 million in the South West last year on a wide range of research into many types of cancer.