A gift that keeps giving

Pledge to leave a Gift in your Will to help fund Cancer Research UK’s life-saving work for future generations

Cancer Research UK is the world’s leading cancer charity and it funds pioneering work into the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer. Today, half of all cancer patients in the UK survive for at least a decade and Cancer Research UK want to help this continually improve. They are focusing their efforts in four key areas – working to help prevent cancer, diagnose it earlier, develop new treatments and optimise current treatments by personalising them and making them even more effective.

Cancer Research UK’s ambition is to accelerate progress so that, by 2034, three in four people will survive their cancer. The treatment of breast cancer, for example, is constantly being researched and trialled to improve its effectiveness and experience of the affected person, with survival in the UK doubling over the past 40 years. Mother of two, 63-year-old Deborah Huggons, trialled one of the latest treatments when she was diagnosed with breast cancer back in 2007.

Deborah’s story

In January 2007, Deborah felt a lump in her breast and was diagnosed with breast cancer at North Devon Hospital. She had an excision biopsy in the February and a mastectomy in the same year, followed by months of chemotherapy. ‘There was no history of breast cancer in the family and it had such an effect on us – the treatment regime is very punishing for the whole family,’ Deborah recalls. ‘I didn’t find chemotherapy easy, but I did not let it beat me. The chemotherapy staff at North Devon Hospital were wonderful and I also visited a counsellor at the North Devon Hospice, which is a fabulous place.’

During her treatment, Deborah took part in the TACT 2 clinical trial at Barnstaple. This Cancer Research UKfunded trial compares different types of chemotherapy drugs to find the most effective combination to use after breast cancer surgery. The trial was investigating if it was better to accelerate the total course of chemotherapy treatment by giving the drugs at two-week intervals rather than at three-week intervals. Following the treatment, Deborah returned to work at Connexions in Barnstaple and is currently returning to hospital for regular tests.

Leaving a legacy

Deborah decided to take part and pledge a gift to Cancer Research UK, to help fund research for others affected and to ensure her wishes live on. Gifts left in Wills fund a third of research and are vital to accelerating progress to save future generations’ lives, just like Deborah’s. ‘We decided to leave something to Cancer Research UK because we had so much help and support from the charity. When I was first diagnosed, I used the website to read up more about the diagnosis and what the next steps would be. It was really amazing to learn how much research Cancer Research UK had done; the charity helps people to feel confident about their diagnosis,’ Deborah shares.

Deborah’s children are now older –

Ewan is 24 and Esme is 23 – but over the years the family have done a lot to support Cancer Research UK. Looking back on taking part in the Tact 2 trial, Deborah says: ‘I took part in the trial because it was almost like having a focus on something else. The trial helped uncover what chemotherapy regime would work best for me.’

Your vital contribution

During the pandemic, the charity has seen a drop in fundraising, so supporting Cancer Research UK by leaving a Gift in your Will is especially vital. Join Deborah and her family in leaving a Gift in your Will today, and help the charity’s dedicated researchers create a world where future generations survive cancer.

By leaving a Gift in your Will, you will help Cancer Research UK plan and invest in pioneering research projects with huge potential, whose impact will be felt by future generations. Together, we will bring forward the day when all cancers are cured.