CANCER RESEARCHERS from the Northern Institute for Cancer Research (NICR) in Newcastle are taking on the Yorkshire Three Peaks in a bid to raise money for their colleagues in Manchester who recently lost their labs in a devastating fire.
The group of researchers will be joining forces with some of their Manchester colleagues, to fundraise to help get the scientists back to work after their labs at the Christie Hospital in Manchester succumbed to fire in April.
In the blaze, which has forced the Cancer Research UK Manchester Institute where they carried out their work, to be shut down and all staff relocated, years’ worth of important research and equipment worth millions of pounds are feared to have been destroyed.
The eight-strong pharmacology group from Newcastle, who all study the use of drugs in tackling cancer, will face the Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge, which is a 24-mile long route taking in the peaks of Pen-y-ghent, Whernside and Ingleborough in total an ascent of 5,200ft (1,585m).
Dr David Jamieson, a Research Associate at the NICR who looks at the use of biomarkers (a measurable indicator of the severity or presence of some disease) in early phase clinical trials, will head up the Newcastle contingent.
Dr Jamieson said: “When we heard about the fire at the Cancer Research UK Manchester institute our first concern was for the safety or our friends and colleagues. Having established that nobody was hurt our thoughts turned to the samples stored there. These samples are a precious gift from people who have, or have had cancer. We were relieved to find out that the action of the Fire Service saved this irreplaceable resource.
“We began to think how we would feel if the same thing happened to the NICR. As scientists working in cancer research we are incredibly privileged in a number of aspects, not least in being able to do a job we love and because of this we invest not just our time but do so with an emotional commitment.
“When we found out the extent of the damage, and the impact it was going to have on the people that work there, it spontaneously occurred to us that we wanted to help any way we could, and that we wanted to do so together with our friends and colleagues from Manchester. Yorkshire seemed a good place to meet up in the middle.”
The team will be taking on the challenge on Saturday 29th July. You can show your support to the group and help get the Manchester labs back up and running so that their work into beating cancer can continue by donating to their JustGiving page www.justgiving.com/fundraising/NCCPG-Y3PC.
Lisa Millett, Cancer Research UK’s spokesperson for the North East, said: “It’s lovely to see our researchers in Newcastle coming together to help their colleagues in Manchester.
“Cancer Research UK has made enormous progress in the fight against cancer. However, we have only been able to do this thanks to the dedication and commitment of volunteers and our researchers without whom we would not be able to carry out our life-saving work. The sooner our Manchester labs are back up and running the sooner the team their can continue in their work to find life-saving treatments and cures for the disease.”
One in two people in the UK will be diagnosed with cancer at some stage in their lives, but the good news is more people are surviving the disease now than ever before. Cancer survival in the UK has doubled since the early 1970s and Cancer Research UK’s work has been at the heart of that progress.
Today, 2 in 4 people survive their cancer for at least 10 years. Cancer Research UK’s ambition is to accelerate progress so that by 2034, 3 in 4 people will survive their cancer for at least 10 years.
For further information about Cancer Research UK’s work or to find out how to support the charity, please call 0300 123 1022 or visit cruk.org.