Breast unaware

November 10, 2008

Breast cancer is one of the most well-known types of cancer, and receives a lot of media attention and campaigning energy. So it’s shocking to discover that many people are still in the dark about some basic aspects of the disease.

That was the conclusion of a new survey of over 700 British women aged 67-73, carried out by Cancer Research UK scientists, led by Amanda Ramirez. The aim of the survey was to measure how much older women (who are most at risk of breast cancer) know about the disease, and its results paint a surprising picture. Let’s take a look at them. Read the rest of this entry »

1 Comment | Breast, Screening | Permalink
Posted by Ed Yong

“So what exactly do you do?”

November 10, 2008

Cancer Research UK logoIt’s a question that is often asked of us.  Most people know that we’re working to beat cancer, but we thought it would be useful to lay out how we’re doing it.

A scientist at workPut simply, we do scientific research into cancer. Lots of it. We fund more than 4,500 scientists, doctors and nurses around the UK who are working hard to find better ways to prevent, diagnose and treat cancer, as well as improving the quality of life for people living with the disease. Last year we spent £333 million on research.

We also provide information for people affected by cancer and lobby governments to improve cancer services and public health, at a cost of £11 million last year.

That’s a lot of money. So what do we spend it on? And what have we achieved so far?

To answer these questions, we’ve launched two new sections on our website.

Read the rest of this entry »

1 Comment | Cancer Research UK-funded research, Cancer Treatment, Health & Lifestyle, Science | Permalink
Posted by Kat Arney