New hope as cancer survival rate doubles
Figures reveal two in four people diagnosed are living for a decade or longer after incredible treatment advances
IN the 1970s only one in four people diagnosed with cancer in the UK survived for 10 years or more.
Now, thanks to research the number is two in four.
In recent weeks there have been several stories about Britain’s position in league tables for survival rates across Britain.
But good news does exist. Over the last 40 years Cancer Research UK has been at the heart of progress that has seen survival in the UK double – and it is working hard to see it rise to three in four by 2034.
The Mirror has teamed up with Cancer Research UK to help raise vital funds – and celebrate good news in the lives of patients and survivors.
Over the next four weeks we’ll share stories that bring to life the impact research is having on those whose lives have been touched by cancer.
The good news is that researchers are making progress all the time, as clinical trials and research help in the development of new drugs and treatments. Good news isn’t just happening in research either.
Every time someone who’s had cancer has positive news – celebrating a birthday, catching up with
a friend or their hair growing back after chemo – it’s evidence of the amazing work being done.
But because cancer still affects thousands of lives and families, Cancer Research UK knows its mission is far from over, so it supports research into all aspects of cancer through the work of more than 4,000 scientists, doctors and nurses. With the charity’s partners and supporters, its vision is to bring forward the day when all cancers are cured. Cancer Research UK wants to prevent cancer, diagnose it earlier and make existing treatment kinder with fewer side effects. Among those helping to make this happen are scientists like Dr Alice Forster. She is studying why some girls don’t get the HPV vaccine, which helps provide protection against cervical cancer.
Or there’s Dr Sarah Bohndiek, who is developing imaging techniques that might help detect cancer early.
CHALLENGE
Prof Gerard Evan, meanwhile, is working to find new treatments for pancreatic cancer, where survival remains stubbornly low. Then there is Dr Serena Nik-Zainal. Her work on “genetic fingerprints” in cancers could show whether a certain treatment is likely to work.
Cancer Research UK receives no government funding for its research, so relies on donations and campaigns, like Race for Life. There are many ways to help, from giving money regularly to signing up to a fundraising event.
Cancer Research UK also wants to answer the complex questions cancer poses. Through its Grand Challenge awards, it is funding Dr Josephine Bunch’s work to create a “Google Earth for cancer” mapping tumours in unprecedented detail.
The awards also fund Professor Greg Hannon, who aims to build 3D computer models so tumours can be studied using virtual reality. Cancer Research UK knows scientists need the best possible facilities to carry out its life saving work. That’s why it co-funds the Francis Crick Institute, where 1,500 talented staff and scientists from a variety of disciplines, are working together to tackle cancer and some of the world’s other major diseases.
With an aim to prevent more causes of cancer, Prof Linda Bauld, Cancer Research UK’s Cancer Prevention Champion, is looking at ways to tackle obesity, the second biggest cause of cancer. And, of course, the charity continues to highlight the biggest cause – smoking. All this is made possible by supporters, volunteers, scientists, doctors, nurses and partners helping to create Good News about cancer Right Now.
Cancer Research UK’s vision is to bring forward the day when all cancers are cured