The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Team effort in cancer battle
Dundee professor tackles fight against disease with old rugby club ahead of World Cancer Day
A scientist has teamed up with his old rugby club to help beat cancer sooner on the eve of World Cancer Day.
Wormit professor Ron Hay, 63, is a scientist at Dundee University, where he is researching how arsenic could be used as a treatment for certain cancers.
Having played for Harris FPs RFC and served as club president, he has donned his old team colours again to promote Cancer Research UK’s unity bands and encourage everyone to show their support for people affected by the disease.
Ron and his team are studying a specific type of arsenic – arsenic trioxide – which is used to treat patients with acute promyelocytic leukaemia (APL).
APL is a rare cancer of the white blood cells that only 10 people in Scotland are diagnosed with every year.
Ron said it was a very successful treatment for APL, curing almost 95% of patients by destroying a protein in the cancer cells. The team is trying to understand how that happens.
“The hope is that we can use this information to test arsenic trioxide as a treatment for other leukaemias and potentially some other types of cancer.”
Every hour, four people in Scotland are diagnosed with cancer and Ron and the Harris FPs know the devastating impact it can have on families.
They are wearing unity bands in memory of the wife of Harris FPs committee member Angus Wares.
Marathon runner Moira lost her battle with lung cancer aged 58.
Angus, whose sons Gavin and Rory both played for Harris FPs while sister Chloe cheered on from the touchline, said: “The team and the committee were an incredible support to the kids and me when we lost Moira.
“So I’m proud to see Ron and the boys supporting Cancer Research UK and urging everyone to rally together and wear a unity band with pride on World Cancer Day.”
Victoria Steven, Cancer Research UK spokesperson for Scotland, said: “Whatever people’s motivation – to remember a loved one, celebrate people who have overcome the disease, or to rally in support of those going through treatment – World Cancer Day is a chance for everyone to get involved and help more people in the fight against cancer.”
Bands are available in the charity’s shops or online at cruk.org.uk/worldcancerday.
The hope is that we can use this information to test arsenic trioxide as a treatment