Jane Lauder
Jane's fundraiser for The Institute of Cancer Research (ICR)
Fundraising for The Institute of Cancer Research (ICR)
Story
In September myself and 40 other cyclists will be taking part in a cycling challenge to raise money for One More City, a charity that raises money to fund research into new treatment options for people with secondary breast cancer. Since 2017, One More City has completed seven rides through six countries, raising nearly £400,000 which has funded 2 PhD students. Over the next 3 years, the target is to raise a further £250,000 which will go straight towards the next campaign funding a Clinical Research fellow.
Much of breast cancer awareness, campaigning and research are focused around prevention and detection in the case of primary cancer, when the disease is confirmed to be breast and lymph nodes. Early diagnosis provides the best chance of survival, as the disease is curable in most people at this stage. However, an estimated 20-30% of primary cancers spread to other organs, which is termed secondary cancer, and at this point, the cancer is no longer curable. Those diagnosed with secondary cancer will spend the rest of their foreshortened lives in some form of treatment.
The ethos of One More City is that the journey is never over; we are always progressing toward the next city, there are always more kilometres to do, more climbs to conquer and more challenges to face. This is akin to the reality of anyone living with cancer, especially secondary cancer, for whom the challenge is never over; there are alway more treatments to endure, more scans to face, more side effects to manage.
Our dear cycling buddy Christine O'Connell, set up and runs the charity and is currently living with stage 4 breast cancer and will also be joining us on this extremely challenging ride from Venice to Rome in late September. Over 4 days we'll cover over 700km and climb 8000m. I'm training hard but the prospect of the challenge is extremely daunting but I'm determined to complete it and raise money for this incredible charity, of which 100% of all funds raised goes towards funding the research students.
In Christine's words:
In 20-30% of women diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer, the disease later spreads to another part of the body - and my hope is that On More City will help find a way to give patients a longer life. By funding a PhD student we're contributing more than just a piece of equipment - we're helping to give someone a future, and that someone will become a great scientist. My hope is that one day we will be able to say cancer is a chronic disease that you can live with and live well with. I think this is a realistic hope. We are making exciting advances against cancer, which are helping people live longer and better. To continue discovering smarter treatments, we need the very brightest cancer scientists and clinicians."
I would be so grateful if you could donate to help train the next generation of PhD scientists who will find tomorrow's cancer treatments.
