{"id":26560,"date":"2020-11-30T10:14:23","date_gmt":"2020-11-30T10:14:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/scienceblog.cancerresearchuk.org\/?p=18147"},"modified":"2024-11-03T15:15:53","modified_gmt":"2024-11-03T15:15:53","slug":"opinion-we-cant-afford-to-stop-now","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ogkologos.com\/en\/opinion-we-cant-afford-to-stop-now\/","title":{"rendered":"Opinion: \u2018We can\u2019t afford to stop now\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Researchers<\/div>\n

Last week<\/span><\/span>, <\/span><\/span>people around the country <\/span><\/span>waited to hear what the UK Government would spend money on next year. It was a tense wait<\/span><\/span>,<\/span><\/span> for many reasons<\/span><\/span>. This year has <\/span><\/span>been <\/span><\/span>difficult<\/span><\/span> for everyone<\/span><\/span> \u2013 <\/span><\/span>for people <\/span><\/span>affected by <\/span><\/span>cancer, for cancer researchers, for us as a charity \u2013 and <\/span><\/span>the spending review was<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span>an opportunity to move forward with recovery. <\/span><\/span>For the past few month<\/span><\/span>s,<\/span><\/span> we\u2019ve been working closely with our brilliant campaigners, researchers and other charities to help make the case for support.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"Michelle<\/p>\n

Michelle Mitchell is our Chief Executive.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Overall, the results were a mixed bag \u2013 but a step in the right direction. We saw some <\/span><\/span>extra funding for the NHS, <\/span><\/span>and <\/span><\/span>though much more is needed, it<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span>moves us one step closer to <\/span><\/span>improving cancer survival <\/span><\/span>for people in the UK<\/span><\/span>. But while it was clear that the Government s<\/span><\/span>ees<\/span><\/span> the value in research and development, <\/span><\/span>medical research charities <\/span><\/span>didn\u2019t get th<\/span><\/span>e<\/span><\/span> lifeline we were hoping<\/span><\/span> for<\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

We can\u2019t stop now<\/span><\/span>. <\/span><\/span>1<\/span><\/span> in 2 people born since 1960 will get cancer. <\/span><\/span>Thanks to <\/span><\/span>the <\/span><\/span>generosity<\/span><\/span> of our supporters<\/span><\/span>, we\u2019ve helped double cancer survival in the last 40 years. <\/span><\/span>D<\/span><\/span>espite <\/span><\/span>this<\/span><\/span> fantastic progress in cancer survival<\/span><\/span>, <\/span><\/span>too many people still die from cancer every year. We\u2019ve got bold goals for improving cancer surviva<\/span><\/span>l and we\u2019re guided by a vision for a world where all cancers are cured.  <\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

We\u2019ve got reason to be confident<\/span><\/span>,<\/span><\/span> because we know from our history that research saves lives. Our <\/span><\/span>research has played a role in developing 8 out of the world\u2019s top 10 cancer drugs, and every day we take steps forward. Just this month<\/span><\/span> the first chemotherapy-free drug combo for bowel cancer<\/a> was approved for NHS use in England<\/span><\/span>, <\/span><\/span>drugs that were <\/span><\/span>built<\/span><\/span> on foundations laid 20 years ago by our researchers. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

But <\/span><\/span>COVID-<\/span><\/span>19 has slowed down our efforts to beat cancer<\/span><\/span>,<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span>and<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span>it\u2019s<\/span><\/span> made our mission a whole lot harder. <\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Because to fund that research, to make that progress, we need to raise funds every year. Every <\/span>step we take towards beating cancer relies on every pound donated.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

Unfortunately<\/span>,<\/span> that\u2019s been harder this year than it\u2019s ever been, as the pandemic has disrupted so much of our fundraising. It was the right thing to do to keep our community safe, but it\u2019s meant that in <\/span>a matter<\/span> of days, we were knocked off course. <\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

We expect to lose 30% of our income this year alone<\/a>, and it\u2019ll take several years to recover<\/span>.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

Without further support, we\u2019ll need to make major cuts to our research budget \u202fevery year for the next 4<\/span><\/span> to <\/span><\/span>5 years. This \u202fwould mean we\u2019ll be spending \u00a3150 million\u202fless per year by 2024 than we\u2019d planned to.<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

The impact of this funding crisis is already being felt. Normally, we\u2019d be funding 10 clinical trials each year to test new treatments. But we haven\u2019t been able to fund any new trials in 2020 and applications for new trials have been halted until next spring. <\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s taken decades to build this momentum. If we <\/span>have to<\/span> make this level of cuts, it\u2019ll take years to get that back. <\/span>We can\u2019t afford to stop now. <\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

That\u2019s why for the first time in our history<\/span>,<\/span> we <\/span>asked the Government to step in, to invest in our world-leading, game-changing, life-saving research. <\/span>Thank you to everyone who added their voic<\/span>es to that call<\/span>.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

We know that this<\/span> would be a solid investment for <\/span>a<\/span> Government<\/span>,<\/span> <\/span>and a Prime Minister with a vision for the UK as a science superpower. And <\/span>in the years to come, that investment would pay dividends for people with cancer. <\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

The UK could become a science superpower \u2013 but not without charities like ours<\/a>. Because we don\u2019t just fund over half of publicly funded cancer research in the UK, we also fund state-of-the art facilities and support thousands of scientists across the UK<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Government did announce an increase in research and development spending <\/span>\u2013 a total of <\/span>\u00a314.6 billion <\/span>will be spent <\/span>over the next year<\/span>. They\u2019ve shown<\/span> their commitment<\/span> to<\/span> <\/span>science<\/span>, but<\/span> there were no commitments to spend some of that money on supporting medical research charities<\/span>. <\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

We are taking this forward with the Government as a matter of urgency and we\u2019ll keep up the pressure. Even a small amount from the Government would be a lifeline for our research. <\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

COVID-19 has left us facing one of <\/span>the<\/span> <\/span>most difficult chall<\/span>e<\/span>nges in our history. <\/span>But despite the devastating impact of <\/span>the <\/span>pandemic<\/span>,<\/span> <\/span>we\u2019<\/span>re absolutely determined<\/span> to <\/span>continue <\/span>saving lives. <\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

We\u2019ve always known that no one organisation, sector or even country can beat cancer alone. That has never been truer than it is now. We are a community of millions<\/span>,<\/span> desperate to see progress in cancer survival.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

And with your <\/span>continued <\/span>support, we\u2019ll have cause for hope. <\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

Michelle Mitchell is the Chief Executive of Cancer Research UK.<\/em><\/p>\n

More on this topic<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n

Source<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Last week, people around the country waited to hear what the UK Government would spend money on next year. It was a tense wait, for many reasons. This year has been difficult for everyone \u2013 for people affected by cancer, for cancer researchers, for us as a charity \u2013 and the spending review was an opportunity to move forward with recovery. For the past few months, we\u2019ve been working […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5137],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26560","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-world-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ogkologos.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26560","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ogkologos.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ogkologos.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ogkologos.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ogkologos.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26560"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ogkologos.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26560\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":45488,"href":"https:\/\/ogkologos.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26560\/revisions\/45488"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ogkologos.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26560"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ogkologos.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26560"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ogkologos.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26560"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}