Cancer Appeal
Every year, more than 22,000 women in the UK are diagnosed with gynaecological cancer. Early diagnosis and the right treatment are crucial to saving lives. Breakthroughs in gynaecological cancer are on the horizon, but we urgently need your help to fund the ground-breaking research that will lead to better tests and treatments.
Your support makes a difference: Aoife’s story
By funding research, we can improve early diagnosis and treatment for cervical cancer, helping women like Aoife.
Aoife vividly remembers the day she was diagnosed with cervical cancer through an unscheduled cervical screening while she was in hospital for cystic fibrosis:
“I will never forget the change in that doctor's demeanour while she was doing the test.”
Shortly after, Aoife received the devastating news – she had the HPV virus, and a biopsy confirmed a cancerous tumour. "My heart broke that day forever.”
After treatment which included a hysterectomy and a slow recovery, Aoife is now 5 years cancer free.
Wellbeing of Women’s research supported the development of the cervical screening brush used in these important tests.
Pioneering research for women’s health
We invest in the highest quality research to transform healthcare for women. Dr Maria Paraskevaidi and her team at Imperial College London are developing a new technique that could help rapidly diagnose cervical and vulval cancers while in their precancerous stages. This is the first-ever clinic-based study using this technology to assist the diagnosis and treatment of cervical and vulval cancers and precancers, including assisting surgeons in removing all cancerous tissue, reducing the likelihood of further surgery.
Your support saves lives: Sbba’s journey
Research saves and improves lives by enabling early detection and effective treatment of ovarian cancer. Sbba’s journey from a late diagnosis to recovery shows the vital importance in being able to quickly identify the right treatments for the right cancer.
Alarm bells started to ring when she sought advice during a general health check. “Your stomach is bloated. It’s distended. It’s out of shape” she was told, “You need to get this checked out”. She had previously had her cancer symptoms dismissed as menopause, but this gave her the push she needed to get checked out again.
“I did not have any knowledge of gynaecological cancers” Sbba shared. Everything changed when she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer.
Sbba shares the importance of cancer research
Sbba went through several surgeries and rounds of chemotherapy, suffering from painful side effects. When some of the treatments didn’t work, she was distraught. But, following her final treatments, she is now cancer free.
Gynaecological cancer research can look at what treatments work for what cancers, meaning women do not have to go through unnecessary treatment in their journey to beat cancer.
Join us as we strive for a future where ovarian cancer can be caught quickly and treated effectively, so more women like Sbba can thrive.
Explore ovarian cancer research we fund
Sbba told us: “On the 7th of February 2023, I had my surgery, and it was brilliant, and I am 100% tumour free. A year on I am still cancer free, and I am living, loving and thriving!”.
Donate today to fund life saving cancer research
By donating to our appeal we can invest in research to discover more effective life saving treatments, giving women more choice, and more hope.
£5 could pay for the use of a fluorescence microscope to analyse tissue samples for 1 hour.
£10 could pay for the biobanking costs of 2 blood sample of a women with suspected ovarian cancer.
£25 could pay towards the cost of equipment needed to analyse cancer tissue to help stop chemotherapy resistance in ovarian cancer patients.
£1,000 could cover the cost of real time detection of ovarian cancer tumour death using live cell analysis system.