Research Kills Cancer: Tayside politicians in factfinding trip to Dundee Cancer Centre

Description

Scottish and UK Parliamentarians met with Cancer Research UK scientists in Dundee, on Friday 25th January, to learn about the charity’s world class research.
The politicians visited the Dundee Cancer Centre at the University of Dundee where they witnessed at first hand the groundbreaking scientific research being carried out by scientists and doctors across the region.
MSPs Joe Fitzpatrick (Dundee City West) Jenny Marra and Nanette Milne (both North East Scotland) were joined by MP Gordon Banks (Ochil and South Perthshire) on the special lab tour.
Cancer Research UK’s senior policy manager in Scotland, Vicky Crichton, said: “This was a great opportunity for the politicians to see some of the fantastic work Cancer Research UK is funding locally.
“Research is cancer’s number one enemy and this visit highlighted just why it is so important to support the vital research which could make a significant difference to thousands of people affected by cancer in Scotland each year.”
The Dundee Cancer Centre brings together scientists, doctors and nurses from Tayside. Collaboration is the key to the success of the Centre, helping to ensure that progress in the labs leads to benefits for people with cancer in Tayside, North East Fife and across the whole UK as quickly as possible.
The Centre is a partnership between Cancer Research UK, the University of Dundee and NHS Tayside. Researchers focus on developing new ways to treat, diagnose and prevent cancer – particularly bowel, breast and skin cancers. Work at the Centre builds on Dundee's world-class research in life sciences, radiotherapy and surgery.
An integral part of the Centre is the Tayside Tissue Bank, which is partly funded by Cancer Research UK. With the consent of patients undergoing an operation, the Tayside Tissue Bank collects and stores surplus diseased and normal tissue samples that are crucial for cutting-edge cancer research.
Professor Simon Herrington, director of the Centre, said: “I was really pleased to welcome these politicians to the Centre to show them how the Tayside Tissue Bank helps scientists understand the differences between healthy tissue and cancer. It is a world-class facility and enables discoveries in the lab to be translated into patient benefit as quickly as possible.”
In 2009, 29,600 people were diagnosed with cancer in Scotland . The good news is that more people are beating the disease than ever before. Cancer survival rates in the UK have doubled in the last forty years and Cancer Research UK’s work has been at the heart of that progress. Thanks to the generosity of its supporters, the charity was able to spend more than £5 million in Dundee last year on some of the UK’s leading scientific and clinical research.
To find out more about how to support Cancer Research UK please visit: www.cruk.org

About Cancer Research UK

• Cancer Research UK is the world’s leading cancer charity dedicated to saving lives through research.
• The charity’s pioneering work into the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer has helped save millions of lives.
• Cancer Research UK receives no government funding for its life-saving research. Every step it makes towards beating cancer relies on every pound donated.
• Cancer Research UK has been at the heart of the progress that has already seen survival rates in the UK double in the last forty years.
• Cancer Research UK supports research into all aspects of cancer through the work of over 4,000 scientists, doctors and nurses.
• Together with its partners and supporters, Cancer Research UK's vision is to bring forward the day when all cancers are cured.