29.11.19
‘Re-Write Cancer’ campaign aiming for new £150m research facility
The largest group of scientists, doctors and nurses in Europe are set to be brought together in new cancer research facility to further the progress for cancer patients.
The campaign will be launched by radio broadcaster Mark Radcliffe. He will unveil an engraved park bench in Manchester, on the University of Manchester campus where he studied back in the 70s, but it has a twist on the traditional.
His ‘in memoriam’ bench has an inscription which reads: “Mark Radcliffe loved sitting here…and still does thanks to advance in cancer research.”
‘Re-Write Cancer’ is a £20m joint fundraising appeal from Cancer Research UK, The Christie Charitable Fund and The University of Manchester. The campaign’s goal is to help the cost for a ground-breaking £150m cancer research facility.
Following the fire damage in 2017 to the Paterson building, the new world class facility is due to be open in 2022 and will be twice the size. Adjoining the Christie NHS Foundation Trust, it has been purposefully designed to foster collaboration and speed up progress on behalf of cancer patients in the North West and across the world.
The facility will bring together Cancer Research UK, The Christie and The University of Manchester. The project will give Manchester the ability to lead the world in recruiting patients to clinical trails within a decade, allowing them to give more patients new cancer treatments leading to improved outcomes and survival rates.
Mark Radcliffe said: “It’s an absolute honour to be involved in the Re-Write Cancer campaign. I loved my years studying at The University of Manchester, so it’s the perfect site for the bench.
“Facing a cancer diagnosis was extremely tough – it completely turned my life upside down and made me re-evaluate what really matters to me. But thousands of people are in the same boat every year and I was fortunate to receive excellent care at The Christie”
Cancer Research UK chief executive, Michelle Mitchell said: “As a fellow former student of The University of Manchester and coming from the North West, I’m thrilled at plans for the new research facility. We’re in a ‘golden age’ of cancer research, with survival rates having doubled over the past 40 years.
"This has largely been driven by improvements in treatments and early diagnosis, but we still have a long way to go in the fight against the disease. By 2030, the building will be at the heart of our ambition to lead the world in clinical trial recruitment – supporting the development of new and kinder cancer therapies.”