Wellbeing of Women invest over £500,000 in 16 new research grants covering the entire life course
by Wellbeing of Women | 19 Nov 2020
Jennifer Saunders to support Wellbeing of Women in BBC Radio 4 Appeal
The comedian will urge listeners to donate towards our life-saving health research
Listen to the Wellbeing of Women BBC Radio 4 Appeal here.
We are delighted to reveal that Jennifer Saunders will deliver her first ever BBC Radio 4 Appeal in support of Wellbeing of Women.
On Sunday 29th of November, Jennifer’s message will draw attention to the fact that women’s health research is “chronically underfunded” - and that we as a charity urgently need your help for our life-saving research to continue.
The comedian and actress said that "reproductive health doesn’t always receive the attention or investment it deserves” and urged people to donate to the cause.
Telling the story of Amy, whose ovarian cancer tumour was the size of a mango by the time it was detected when she was just 36, Jennifer explained that the lack of priority given to women’s health research (it receives just 2.1% of all UK public health funding) means that women are suffering in silence.
“Women play such an incredibly important part in our society; we make up more than half of our population, after all,” she said. “Yet many women’s health issues are often overlooked.”
She explained that Amy’s cancer is particularly difficult to treat as it has become resistant to chemotherapy, a common occurrence with ovarian cancer and something Wellbeing of Women is looking to find solutions to in its research.
Jennifer also explained that as there is no easy test for ovarian cancer it is also often detected too late – as was the case for Amy – which is why Wellbeing of Women researchers are looking to develop a new easy test.
Jennifer said that that she knows the importance of research having had cancer herself, saying “if it wasn’t for research, I wouldn’t be here on the radio today.”
We’d like to thank Jennifer for her incredible support of our vital research into gynaecological cancers, pregnancy and birth and wellbeing issues. With her help and yours, we can continue to safeguard the future of women’s health.
The Appeal will be broadcast on Sunday 29th of November at 07:54 and 21:25, and on the 3rd of December at 15:27.
