Cancer Research UK funding is fundamental to everything we do

Every year around 19,300* people in Wales are diagnosed with cancer. That’s over 50 people diagnosed with cancer every day. That is why research into better diagnostics and improved treatments is so vital. Many research projects in Wales benefit from the generosity of people leaving a gift to Cancer Research UK in their Will. Professor Duncan Baird is the research lead at the Division of Cancer and Genetics at Cardiff University. Professor Baird and his team are studying special DNA structures found inside our cells, known as telomeres, and the role they play in cancer. Telomeres are the caps at the ends of chromosomes, which are the long strings of DNA inside our cells that contain our genetic informations. They’re a bit like the plastic cap on the end of a shoelace.

“Our lab has developed the highest resolution approach available to measure how long telomeres are. We have also defined the length at which telomeres become dysfunctional and chromosomes start to become damaged. Our results have shown that telomere length can be used to define both the prognosis and the response to treatment of patients with several different types of cancer, including chronic lymphocytic leukaemia, myelodysplasia, multiple myeloma and breast cancer. We have developed our technology for clinical application, and we are in the process of bringing this technology to cancer patients and the pharmaceutical industry. “My lab is currently supported by Cancer Research UK via a 5-year programme grant. This long-term funding provides stability and allows people in the lab to develop more ambitious programmes of work than they could if they were employed on standard 3-year research contracts. Cancer Research UK funding is fundamental to everything we do. “Both my parents died of cancer. For both it was very sudden. My mother in particular went from diagnosis to death in a matter of months and had no opportunity to say goodbye to any of her family. It’s for the many people like my parents that I want to keep contributing to our collective understanding of cancer. “It’s sobering to think that a large proportion of the funding that keeps our laboratory going has come from those who have sadly passed away, but have committed to giving to Cancer Research UK, leaving their money to go towards the combined efforts of the research community into finding more effective therapies for cancer patients.” Gifts in Wills fund over a third of our life-saving research. These vital legacies, together with the commitment of the researchers to finding new breakthroughs, are so important to one day beating cancer.