FOLK in Edinburgh and the Lothians are being challenged to kick start the New Year by taking steps to support Cancer Research UK.
The charity is urging people to sign up now to Walk All Over Cancer and get sponsored to take 10,000 steps every day for a month.
By raising vital funds, people across the region could help to get life-saving research back on track after the impact of COVID-19 – while burning off any excess Christmas calories. As well as helping towards a healthy body weight, taking part could take a little weight off the mind too. Regular walking is a great stress-reliever and can help with mental wellbeing by improving mood and sleep.
Linda Summerhayes, Cancer Research UK’s spokesperson in Scotland, said: “Fundraising has fallen and right now, future research is at risk – that’s why we’re urging as many people as possible to make ‘Walk All Over Cancer’ their New Year’s resolution.
“We all hope that 2021 has a more positive outlook. So why not give yourself a boost by committing to get more active and having an achievable goal to aim for – all in aid of a good cause.
“There’s plenty of time for supporters to start building up to the challenge in March and planning new ways to fit in some extra steps.
“Sticking to a resolution can be hard, especially through the cold, dark winter months, but registering now and making a public pledge to take part in the Spring, could help people steel their resolve. Plus, there’s the ultimate motivation of knowing every step you take will be helping to save lives.”
Based on the average person’s strides, 10,000 steps is equal to about five miles, so by the end of March participants will have clocked up more than 150 miles.
That’s quite a challenge for some but adopting small changes that you can stick to can really add up – whether it’s doing conference calls on the go, exploring local beauty spots or treating the dog to a month of extra-long walks.
Keeping check on the number of steps taken each day is a great way to create a sense of achievement and it’s easy to do with smartphone apps, pedometers and wearable activity trackers available to help. Walk All Over Cancer is now integrated with FitBit, so that participants can automatically publish their step count on their fundraising page throughout the month.
Linda added: “With around 32,400 people diagnosed with cancer every year in Scotland*, we’re working every day to find new ways to prevent, diagnose and treat the disease.
“The truth is COVID-19 has slowed us down, but we will never stop striving to create better treatments for tomorrow. Every step our scientists take towards beating cancer relies on our supporters. That’s why we need everyone to step up to Walk All Over Cancer.”
Before the outbreak, Cancer Research UK was able to spend over £8 million in Edinburgh on some of the UK’s leading scientific and clinical research.
To sign up and receive a free fundraising pack, with tips and ideas to help with the challenge, visit cruk.org/walkallover.
Participants are being encouraged to use #WalkAllOverCancer and tag @CR_UK when sharing their challenge on social media.
AN EDINBURGH scientist who lost his father to COVID-19 is rallying people across the city to help tackle the devastating loss of funding for cancer research caused by the coronavirus outbreak.
The pandemic has slowed down the work of Dr Juan-Carlos Acosta at the Cancer Research UK Edinburgh Centre at the University of Edinburgh, but after attending a heart-breaking memorial service to his dad in Spain, the cancer scientist is finally back working in his lab in Scotland.
The 46-year-old, from North Edinburgh, was devastated to hear his father – a former director of public health in Spain – had died from COVID-19 on 23 March, aged 79.
Spurred on by his father’s death, the scientist lent his expertise to help set up a COVID-19 testing facility at the University of Edinburgh while he was forced to continue his research from home during the lockdown.
Now, with much of his work having been on pause, Juan-Carlos is backing an urgent new appeal from Cancer Research UK for donations to help get life-saving research back on track.
Following the cancellation of fundraising events like Race for Life, the charity is expecting a staggering £160 million drop in income in the year ahead.
As a result, Cancer Research UK has had to make the difficult decision to cut £44 million in research funding, but this is likely to be just the beginning.
Originally from Burgos in Spain, Juan-Carlos, who is funded by Cancer Research UK, is helping to highlight the threat the funding gap poses to future breakthroughs for cancer patients in Scotland and across the UK.
As a cancer scientist, he says he knows first-hand how vital new breakthroughs and discoveries are for people with cancer, who have felt keenly the impact of COVID-19.
Juan-Carlos said: “The cancer research that has taken place in the last 20 to 30 years, funded by Cancer Research UK and others, has made a huge difference to the number of people who survive cancer today. If the funding and the research stops, it’s going to be detrimental to people in the future.”
He continued: “You can imagine that in some laboratory somewhere, there may be a vial with a drug that could make the difference for some people with cancer. But if research stops, if the funding stops, this drug will come much later and it’s going to cost lives.”
Scientist Juan-Carlos was inspired to pursue a career in the medical sector by his father, also called Juan-Carlos. A doctor who became Director of Public Health for the province of Burgos, Spain, Juan-Carlos senior was a highly-respected official who led the region’s responses to outbreaks of diseases such as bird and swine flu. So, it’s somewhat ironic Juan-Carlos says, that he fell victim to one of the worst pandemics the world has seen in modern times.
Juan-Carlos said: “My father always said he worried that a global pandemic like this was one of the risks we would face in the future. And it happened, and he was one of the people who died from it.”
Juan-Carlos senior started to show COVID-19 symptoms in his care home in Burgos in early March. He was admitted to hospital after his symptoms worsened, but he died ten days later. Neither his wife, Maribel, nor any of his family was able to see him in hospital or be with him when he passed away.
Juan-Carlos said: “It was really tough for the whole family. For me, it felt very strange the day my father died. Under normal circumstances I would have expected to be booking a flight home and starting to make funeral arrangements, but I couldn’t do anything. I was stuck at home in Edinburgh.
“In the end, the arrangements all happened very fast. Because it was the peak of the pandemic in Spain they were moving very quickly, and my father was cremated the next day with only my mother and my brother present. It was really difficult for me not to be able to be there, to hug my mum and my brother and to close the chapter of my father.”
The family was finally able to hold a ceremony to remember Juan-Carlos senior on July 21, in his hometown of Burgos.
Paying tribute to his father, Juan-Carlos said: “He was a person who was full of life, who loved to spend time with friends and family. He was also a great cook and loved to entertain in his kitchen. He was a bon vivant. We will miss him very much.”
Not long after his father’s death, the Edinburgh scientist was approached to help set up a COVID-19 testing facility at the University of Edinburgh.
In between carrying on his cancer research from home, Juan-Carlos used his expert knowledge and skills to help develop the COVID-19 testing process at the facility at the university’s Institute of Genetic & Molecular Medicine, which was set up to support NHS Lothian to increase its testing capacity at the peak of the outbreak in Scotland.
He said: “I thought about what my father’s response would have been to the pandemic. He would not have stayed at home knowing he could do something. I knew I had the skills to help so, when the opportunity came up, I felt it was my duty to get involved.”
Now back in his lab at the Cancer Research UK Edinburgh Centre, Juan-Carlos is determined to get his research back up and running as quickly as possible.
He and his team study how cells alert the body when they are in danger of becoming cancerous, and the body’s natural responses to remove or destroy these damaged cells.
Juan-Carlos explained: “When the DNA in normal cells becomes damaged, and the cells are primed to become cancerous, there are several natural systems in the body that stop the development and growth of these cells.
“The aim of our research is to better understand these natural systems that act as a defence against cancer and use this information to design new treatments that could activate these natural defences to stop cancers from growing.
“Our research has shown positive results in lung cancer, and we are starting to take this forward now.”
Scotland is the only country in the UK where lung cancer is still the most common cancer. Each year in Scotland, around 5,300 people are diagnosed with lung cancer*, and around 4,100 people in Scotland die from the disease each year**.
Four months on from the start of lockdown, Juan-Carlos’ vital work is slowly re-starting – but with new safety measures in place in the lab and complex experiments to recover, it could take months to get back up and running at full speed.
And now with more cuts likely to follow, Juan-Carlos is deeply concerned about the heart-breaking fallout for patients.
The issue is powerfully brought to life in a new TV appeal film. It shows a cancer patient on the verge of finding out whether her treatment has been successful, when the video pauses at the critical moment.
Commenting on the film Juan Carlos said: “The message is clear, to save lives tomorrow Cancer Research UK needs the public’s support today.
“Research into cancer is facing a crisis where years and even decades worth of work could be lost in a matter of months. Every day and every pound counts, so I hope people in Edinburgh will give what they can to help us keep making new discoveries.
“As researchers our mission is clear – beat cancer. And with the impact of COVID-19 being keenly felt by people with the disease, it’s never been more important.”
Cancer Research UK’s work into the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer has been at the heart of progress that has seen survival in the UK double in the last 40 years.
Thanks to the generosity of its supporters, the charity currently funds around 50 per cent of all publicly funded cancer research in the UK.
Dr Victoria Steven, Cancer Research UK spokesperson for Scotland, said: “We’re grateful to Juan-Carlos for helping to underline the stark reality of the current situation.
“With more than 32,200 people diagnosed with cancer every year in Scotland***, we will never stop striving to create new and better treatments. But we can’t do it alone.
“Whether they donate, sign up to Race for Life at Home or shop at our recently re-opened stores in the city – with the help of people in Edinburgh we believe that together we will still beat cancer.”
Cancer Research UK was able to spend over £8 million in Edinburgh last year on some of the UK’s leading scientific and clinical research.
Every year, more than 32,200 people are diagnosed with cancer in Scotland***.
Thanks to the generosity of its supporters, Cancer Research UK was able to spend over £42 million in Scotland last year on some of the UK’s leading scientific and clinical research.
But the crucial work of researchers like Dr Juan-Carlos Acosta is under threat due to a devastating loss of funding caused by COVID-19.
There are lots of different ways people in Edinburgh can help to get life-saving research back on track by:
Making a donation
Taking part in Race for Life at Home
Signing up to Cycle 300
Shopping at the recently re-opened Cancer Research UK stores in Nicolson Street, Stockbridge or the Cancer Research UK superstore in Corstorphine.
AN Edinburgh woman who was inspired to become a cancer scientist after her grandmother’s life was extended following pioneering treatment, is calling on men and women to Walk All Over Cancer and help raise money for vital research.
Kristel Sepp, a PhD student at the Cancer Research UK Edinburgh Centre, is urging people to sign up now and get sponsored to walk 10,000 steps a day in March.
Scientist Kristel, aged 28, from Leith, knows first-hand how important research is to people with cancer after losing her beloved grandmother to the disease.
Senta Sosi died from pancreatic cancer aged just 63 years old, while Kristel was studying for a degree in chemistry at the University of Edinburgh.
It was saying goodbye to her grandmother that drove Kristel, originally from Kuressaare in Estonia, to become a cancer scientist. After completing her undergraduate degree, she joined the Cancer Research UK Edinburgh Centre to study for a PhD in optical medical imaging.
Kristel said: “My grandma was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer before I started high school. It was really hard for all the family. Pancreatic cancer is one of the most difficult cancers to treat and we didn’t know what to expect.
“But, after surgery and chemotherapy, she lived for another five years. I’m so grateful that thanks to her treatment we got to spend more time with her – and that she got to see the birth of another granddaughter, my cousin.
She continued: “It was research that developed the treatment that gave my grandma more time with her family. That’s why I decided I wanted to become a cancer researcher, and why I’m calling on people in Edinburgh to sign up with me to Walk All Over Cancer and raise money to help more people have more time with their family and friends.”
Kristel works at the Cancer Research UK Edinburgh Centre on a technique called stimulated Raman scattering microscopy (SRS), which allows her to study how drugs behave in cancer cells in real time.
She explained: “To be able to study a drug in this way, we get a better understanding of where the drug goes in cancer cells – does it go where we expect it to go in order to kill the cancer cells? This has been a big challenge for scientists up until now.
“I’ve been studying how drugs behave in chronic myeloid leukaemia cells. Some patients with this type of blood cancer stop responding to treatment because their cancer becomes resistant to the drugs.
“I’ve been using SRS to look at how one drug used to treat chronic myeloid leukaemia behaves in cancer cells that are sensitive to the treatment, compared to cancer cells that are resistant to it.
“By understanding clearly how drugs behave in cancer cells in real time, it could help scientists to develop better cancer treatments more quickly and at less expense.”
As well as working on ground-breaking cancer research, Kristel enjoys keeping fit and tries to walk 10,000 steps every day as part of her exercise plan. She uses a fitness tracker on her wrist to keep track of how many steps she’s taken.
She said: “I like to walk because I enjoy the fresh air and the health benefits of walking. If it’s the weekend, I like to walk to the top of Arthur’s Seat. Day to day, I’ll do things like walk to the gym and back to try to get in as many steps as I can.”
She continued: “If you take on the Walk All Over Cancer challenge, it’s up to you how you reach 10,000 steps per day. You could take on the challenge on your own or with family, friends and colleagues. And you can try to find ways to fit your steps in around your other daily activities. For example, I like to walk when I’m Skyping my mom. That way I can get my steps in and catch up with what’s going on back home in Estonia at the same time.”
Keeping check on the number of steps taken each day has never been easier, with many smartphone apps, pedometers and wearable activity trackers.
Victoria Steven, Cancer Research UK’s spokesperson for Scotland, said: “Signing up to Walk All Over Cancer is a great way to kick-start a healthier lifestyle, now that Spring is just around the corner.
She added: “Walking 10,000 steps is equal to about five miles, based on the average person’s strides. That’s quite a challenge for many people. But adopting small lifestyle changes – from walking to work or taking the stairs instead of the lift – can help make the goal feel achievable.”
In Scotland, a fifth (20 per cent) of people are getting less than 30 minutes of physical activity a week.
Not only will taking on the challenge help raise money, it has health benefits as well. Moderate exercise can help build stamina, burn excess calories and protect against a range of diseases including cancer.
Victoria continued: “By signing up now, there’s time to plan ways to fit in some extra steps in March. Everyone who gets sponsored to go those extra miles will be making a real difference to the 88 people diagnosed with cancer every day in Scotland.
“Cancer survival has doubled since the early 1970s and Cancer Research UK’s work has been at the heart of that progress – but every step our doctors, nurses and scientists take relies on donations from the public and the tireless fundraising of our supporters.”
New figures from Cancer Research UK show that people who are obese now outnumber people who smoke two to one in the UK, and excess weight causes more cases of certain cancers than smoking, as the charity urges Government action to tackle obesity.Continue reading Government must act to tackle obesity, says cancer charity
Last push for ticket sales for the Stockbridge Stand Up To Cancer Fashion Show. Help us raise more funds to beat cancer.
Catwalk, shopping, bar, cupcakes, Xmas shop and amazing raffle prizes including meals for two at Taisteal and Zest and also bottle of Glenmorangie and £100 Staters Menswear! There will also be additional special raffles for a weekends hire at Lexus Scotland and a visit to One Spa from Sheraton Hotel.
You don’t want to miss this amazing evening at Edinburgh College, Granton Campus!
It is particularly relevant during 2018 Year of Young People to focus on the education of young people on lifestyle choices that can significantly risk the chance of getting cancer. The Teenager Cancer Trust’s education and awareness programme is now able to reach 80% of secondary schools in Scotland and Miles Briggs, the Scottish Conseratives health spokesman, supports their aim to achieve 100% coverage.Continue reading Briggs Commends Education for Young People on Cancer Prevention
You are invited to the Preview of ‘Positively Blue’
To coincide with World Cancer Day on 4 February, Lennon-Art Gallery has curated a unique blue-themed exhibition ‘Positively Blue,’ with all proceeds going to Cancer Research UK. This is an opportunity to buy some fantastic, affordable original art from a wide range of very talented artists and support this great cause.
Preview Sunday 4th February 1-4pm
Exhibition Continues until 18th February. Mon-Sat 11-6pm
