CRUK Your Day, Your Say

By Helen Morement

Cancer Research UK are holding ‘Your Say, Your Day’ events on 6th September 2013 across the UK to inform those affected by cancer about their latest research, information and campaigns, and to let them know how they can help make a real difference.

Researchers, nurses and members of the CRUK team will be available during the day, including over lunch, to talk to and share ideas with. During the event day it is planned to connect with other Cancer Research UK Centres and share ideas through live links.

So it was very useful to be at the trial run of this ‘Your Say, Your Day’ event in London today, Thursday 29th August, in the Joseph Rotblat Building at Queen Mary University of London, Charterhouse Square, close to the Barbican.

From CRUK’s point of view, they were looking to hear from patients and patient representatives exactly what it is that would encourage them to support the charity, and to become CRUK Ambassadors.

As AMMF’s representative, I took the opportunity to mention that many patients with the rarer/less common cancers, who actually make up some 52% of all those diagnosed with cancer, felt CRUK had little interest in them, that their focus was on the major cancers.  I suggested the following:

• CRUK should acknowledge the rarer/less common cancers community far more than currently – perhaps by forming a Rarer Cancers Advisory Group

• A proportion of CRUK research funds should be specifically earmarked for research into the rarer cancers, so that research funding applications for this area are not competing with those for the major cancer groups

This may not have been quite what they wanted to hear, but there were several other representatives from the rarer cancers world present, and these points seemed to be well received by them and, to give them their due, the CRUK officials did take note.

The Main Event – Friday 6th September, 2013

The main ‘Your Say, Your Day’ events will be happening in 10 locations throughout the UK on the same day, Friday, 6th September – in London, Belfast, Birmingham, Cardiff, Dundee, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, and Southampton.

For those interested in attending (it’s free), more information is available from the Support Cancer Research UK website.  To access this, click here

29 August 2013