'Saved By Adele's Courage': How A Southport DJ is Changing the Face of Cancer
SOUTHPORT DJ and bowel cancer survivor Adele Roberts is calling for the next Government to help save more lives from cancer.
As polling day fast-approaches, the presenter has signed an open letter from Cancer Research UK urging party leaders to make the general election a turning point for people affected by the disease.
Highlighting the need to tackle cancer waiting times, unequal access to diagnosis and treatment and an estimated £1bn funding gap for life-saving research, the letter urges party leaders to make cancer a priority in their manifestos.
The charity says a long-term cancer strategy for England is needed to help transform survival.
Now it’s issuing a rallying cry for people in Southport to show their support by following in Adele’s footsteps and signing the letter at cruk.org/letter.
They have until June 5th to join a groundswell of over 20,000 supporters, scientists and stars, including actors Stephen Graham and Daisy Edgar Jones, comedian John Bishop and TV presenter Alison Hammond, who have given it their backing.
With around half a million cancer cases a year projected in the UK by 2040 – of which around an estimated 58,000 could be in the North West* - the need for people across the region to have their say is clear.
Cancer Research UK’s letter powerfully brings figures like these into sharp focus for party leaders stating, “Behind each statistic is a real person affected by cancer. Partners holding hands waiting for news. Friends missing at birthdays. Parents up late worrying.”
The charity’s spokesperson for the North West, Jemma Humphreys, said: “We've made huge progress in beating cancer over the last 50 years, but it remains the defining health issue of our time. So, with the countdown to the general election underway, we’re grateful to Adele Roberts for her support. She understands the devastating impact of a cancer diagnosis all too well.
“Cancer cases are rising and, every year, around 19,600 people in the region lose their lives to the disease**. That’s why we hope people in Southport will seize this opportunity to help turn the tide by signing our letter to party leaders and urging them to make cancer a priority in their manifestos.
“Our ambition for the future is simple: longer, better lives for people in the North West and across the UK.”
Sign the charity’s open letter to party leaders at cruk.org/letter
BOX OUT: LONGER, BETTER LIVES IN THE NORTH WEST
Developed with insight from cancer patients, Cancer Research UK has published its own bold cancer plan for politicians after the general election: Longer, better lives: a manifesto for cancer research and care.
It sets out a raft of key measures that it says, if adopted, could help transform the outlook for people affected by cancer in the decades to come.
The charity is calling on the next UK Government to:
· Lead on cancer: Publish a long-term cancer strategy for England and establish a National Cancer Council, accountable to the Prime Minister, to drive cross-government action on cancer.
· Back research: Set out a plan to close the more than £1bn funding gap for research into cancer over the next decade.
· End the waits: Ensure cancer wait time targets are met across England.
· End cancers caused by smoking: This includes bringing back legislation to raise the age of sale of tobacco in the first King’s Speech after the general election and funding a world-leading programme of measures to help people who smoke to quit.
· Drive earlier diagnoses: Implement proven measures, including a lung screening programme, to diagnose cancers early and reduce inequalities in access.
Get involved at cruk.org/letter
ENDS
For media enquiries contact Cancer Research UK Senior Regional Media Relations Officer for the North West Jemma Humphreys on 07467 337109 or email [email protected]
Notes to editor:
Adele Roberts’ social post in support of Cancer Research UK’s open letter to party leaders can be viewed here:
https://x.com/AdeleRoberts/status/1795740889106771996