Together we can stop bowel cancer
As you may have seen from all the coverage on the news and social media, today is World Cancer Day. It’s such a great opportunity for the world’s population to come together and shine a spotlight on cancer.
A whole range of cancer charities across the globe will be raising awareness, educating people of the signs and symptoms of cancer, urging governments to do more and spurring individuals across the world to take action.
Action – that’s the key to stopping cancer. We know that bowel cancer is treatable and curable if detected early enough – but so few cancers are detected early, resulting in over 16,000 people losing their lives every year in the UK, making it the second biggest cancer killer.
So, on World Cancer Day 2016 we are taking action by launching our new Research Strategy 2016; as we become the UK’s leading bowel cancer research charity.
Over the next year we’re going to concentrate on four key research areas:
- Investigating the gaps in bowel cancer research
- Gathering the brightest minds in bowel cancer research to highlight gaps in our knowledge, that if filled, will save the lives of thousands of people with the disease
- Understanding bowel cancer in younger people
- Funding vital research into early onset bowel cancer
- Improving surgery and access to clinical trials for bowel cancer patients
- Partnership funding Fellowships and a Surgical Research Chair into improving access to clinical trials
- Putting patients at the heart of research
- Helping patients and their families be involved in influencing research and clinical trials
You can read more about our exciting ambitions in our research strategy.
But we can’t do this alone; we need you to take action too. We need you to get involved in our policy and campaigning work, fundraise for us, tell everyone you know about the signs and symptoms of the disease – and when the time comes make sure you and your loved ones complete your bowel cancer screening test when it arrives in the post.
To help support us take our vital research work further please visit http://www.bowelcanceruk.org.uk/donate/
By Lisa Wilde, Bowel Cancer UK Interim Director of External Affairs