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cancer charity on an on-going basis (just the odd “just-giving” stuff, during my good old office times). Well, until I got to know the devastating face of cancer myself, when a close friend of mine perished in front of me and his family. He was only in his early 60s, when he passed away. Being a middle aged man myself (although I do not like admitting it), I suddenly felt an urge to conduct my own research, and answer the question on “why is it really that important to support a cancer charity?” The hard facts Although I read the key facts at least a million times before, this time they really hit home. Over 1 in 3 people in the UK will be affected by cancer at some point – which means almost every family in the UK will have a case of cancer in the years to come. This is just backed up by the sad fact that in 2009 alone 320,467 people were diagnosed with cancer, and over 150,000 people died of it in 2010. The fact that there are over 200 types of cancer, with each of them having their own symptoms, does not help the cause of reducing the rates and increasing survival either. Since someone I cared for got struck down with it – it opened my eyes to the extend cancer actually plays in our everyday lives. It was interesting to find out that, in today’s tough economic environment, where people are losing their jobs on a daily basis – cancer still tops the list of fears amongst British citizens. People ‘are’ aware of it. Importance of Cancer Charities So, why is it important to support a cancer charity? It is because the UK health bill does not, or is not able, to cover all of the cancer support and research needed. The government’s focus is mainly on providing actual cancer care; this means sometimes the human touch gets lost. Here your charity comes into play. They are able to specifically focus on the education around cancer and the moral support for families who have been affected by cancer. They helped to raise enough money to increase survival rates for the biggest killer such as breast cancer from 52% in the 70s to 95% (for at least 5 years) nowadays. Being able to live an extra 5 years might not seem a lot for a healthy person but someone with cancer will be happy about every extra day he/she can spend with his/her family and friends. Charities do not have a cure for cancer but they give people hope back and allow them to live a dignified life. But their work goes even beyond that. These charities provide crucial training for nurses to improve the care given to cancer patients. Additionally, some charities will fund Faciliators at GP practices to provide not only better medical care and advice but also provide some reassurance and moral support. As mentioned before the health bill does not have the means to cover every aspect of cancer research and care. The charities will use donations to fund specialist scientists and medical staff to research new cancer therapies and fund the medical trials needed. So, what Charity to choose? Do not wait until you get affected by cancer – find a charity that means something to you and be ensured that they are helping someone through the toughest time of his/her life. But that’s sometimes easier said than done. There is a vast array of charities out there. Accept the fact that you will not be able to support every one of them. But supporting one at least, properly, will make a difference for the bigger cause. I would recommend to actually undertaking some research. Create a short top 5 list, and after that dig deeper into what they actually do with the donations they receive. It is better to find a charity that you will love to support, because you buy into their cause totally. Do not just go with the mainstream – Find the one for you. Jeff Nevil writes on a number of subjects including cancer charities. ">Cancer is a common topic. Cancer rates are reiterated over and over again to the general public through news, charity events, on TV etc. However, sometimes when people get reminded all the time about something – it just becomes an everyday thing. Something they casually think about, might keep in the back of their mind, but try not to worry about too much – until it touches them personally. I was one of those people. I knew cancer exists. I knew people were dying due to it. Of course I knew that there were charities that were fighting to reduce the cancer rate and increase cancer survival. Strangely, I always thought those charities were doing an amazing job – but never supported a cancer charity on an on-going basis (just the odd “just-giving” stuff, during my good old office times). Well, until I got to know the devastating face of cancer myself, when a close friend of mine perished in front of me and his family. He was only in his early 60s, when he passed away. Being a middle aged man myself (although I do not like admitting it), I suddenly felt an urge to conduct my own research, and answer the question on “why is it really that important to support a cancer charity?” The hard facts Although I read the key facts at least a million times before, this time they really hit home. Over 1 in 3 people in the UK will be affected by cancer at some point – which means almost every family in the UK will have a case of cancer in the years to come. This is just backed up by the sad fact that in 2009 alone 320,467 people were diagnosed with cancer, and over 150,000 people died of it in 2010. The fact that there are over 200 types of cancer, with each of them having their own symptoms, does not help the cause of reducing the rates and increasing survival either. Since someone I cared for got struck down with it – it opened my eyes to the extend cancer actually plays in our everyday lives. It was interesting to find out that, in today’s tough economic environment, where people are losing their jobs on a daily basis – cancer still tops the list of fears amongst British citizens. People ‘are’ aware of it. Importance of Cancer Charities So, why is it important to support a cancer charity? It is because the UK health bill does not, or is not able, to cover all of the cancer support and research needed. The government’s focus is mainly on providing actual cancer care; this means sometimes the human touch gets lost. Here your charity comes into play. They are able to specifically focus on the education around cancer and the moral support for families who have been affected by cancer. They helped to raise enough money to increase survival rates for the biggest killer such as breast cancer from 52% in the 70s to 95% (for at least 5 years) nowadays. Being able to live an extra 5 years might not seem a lot for a healthy person but someone with cancer will be happy about every extra day he/she can spend with his/her family and friends. Charities do not have a cure for cancer but they give people hope back and allow them to live a dignified life. But their work goes even beyond that. These charities provide crucial training for nurses to improve the care given to cancer patients. Additionally, some charities will fund Faciliators at GP practices to provide not only better medical care and advice but also provide some reassurance and moral support. As mentioned before the health bill does not have the means to cover every aspect of cancer research and care. The charities will use donations to fund specialist scientists and medical staff to research new cancer therapies and fund the medical trials needed. So, what Charity to choose? Do not wait until you get affected by cancer – find a charity that means something to you and be ensured that they are helping someone through the toughest time of his/her life. But that’s sometimes easier said than done. There is a vast array of charities out there. Accept the fact that you will not be able to support every one of them. But supporting one at least, properly, will make a difference for the bigger cause. I would recommend to actually undertaking some research. Create a short top 5 list, and after that dig deeper into what they actually do with the donations they receive. It is better to find a charity that you will love to support, because you buy into their cause totally. Do not just go with the mainstream – Find the one for you. Jeff Nevil writes on a number of subjects including cancer charities.
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