join the big race!!

Last year Cancer Research UK spent an incredible £315 million on research into cancer, virtually all of it from public donations.

Whether it’s a few pounds or thousands – every penny you raise soon adds up. The Race for Life is a fun, easy to enter way to add your support to the cause, and even the fundraising is made easy - if you have an Internet connection and a mouse you can sign up for your own sponsorship page and Race for Life will even e-mail all yor friends and tell them about it! Events have been taking place throughout May and will cary on through June, so if you want to help, enter Race for Life today and fundraise online to help them beat cancer.

Progress so far

On average, ten-year survival rates have doubled since the 1970s.

Since it began in 1994, Race for Life has raised over £200 million, which has helped to bring about some real improvements in the outlook for people with cancer in the UK. Here are some examples:

• Almost two thirds of women diagnosed with breast cancer now are likely to survive for at least 20 years. When Race for Life first started, fewer than half could expect to survive this long.
• The death rate from bowel cancer has dropped by over a quarter in the last 14 years. That’s thanks to greater awareness, earlier detection and better treatments.
• The incidence rate for cervical cancer has dropped by 30 per cent over the last ten years, largely due to screening. Cancer Research UK contributed to the development and improvement of cervical screening. 

Into the future

Cancer Research has set some ambitious goals for the year 2020, which are hoped to make a real difference in preventing cancer and improving survival. They want to increase our spending on research to £400 million by 2010, but they can’t do it without your help. And they're getting a little bit from me - I'm running the race on 1 June!

Find your nearest Race for Life event.

UPDATE!

So far I've raised just short of £200 for Cancer Research - a mere drop in the ocean but every little helps. I finished the race in just over 49 minutes, and here's the proof: