SCTU researcher to Race For Life
A Southampton Clinical Trials Unit researcher who is part of a team conducting trials to find new cancer treatments will be among more than 3,000 people taking part in Southampton’s Race for Life, raising funds to support the ground-breaking work she carries out at SCTU.
Cancer Research UK recently invested £5.5million in the SCTU where Katie Bishop collects vital data when the latest new cancer drugs are being tested in patients.
Money raised at Race for Life not only supports her work but helps patients like her two grandparents who were recently diagnosed with the disease.
Katie said: “When my grandparents were told they both had cancer, it brought it home to me exactly how the work we do at the SCTU can help people.
“That’s when I decided to give something back to continue funding trials that find the best ways of detecting cancer and the best new treatments.”
When she’s not analysing data, Katie can be found preparing for her next run in aid of Cancer Research UK. So far this year she has taken part in the Eastleigh 10k, the Southampton half-marathon and after taking part in the Race for Life 10k on July 22nd on The Common, will be looking ahead to the Great South Run in October.
Cancer Research UK’s Race for Life, in partnership with headline sponsor Standard Life, part of Phoenix Group, is an inspiring series of 3k, 5k, 10k, Pretty Muddy and Pretty Muddy Kids events which raise millions of pounds every year to help beat cancer by funding crucial research. People of all ages and abilities are welcome.
Katie, 22, from Totton, hopes her work in Southampton will inspire people to keep raising funds. Her research focuses on collecting data when new treatments are being carefully tested in patients after showing promising results in the laboratory.
Katie ensures the trial is being carried out correctly, that all the relevant information is coming in from the various hospitals and trial units involved and checks that the patients are ok.
Katie said: “I see how hard everyone works and seeing positive outcomes in our trials really motivates everyone in the team. We’re all working towards having a treatment that can manage every cancer and seeing how patients benefit from our work is so inspiring.
“I’d only been working at the unit for four months when my own family was affected by cancer. In November my grandad was told he had prostate cancer and just two weeks later my Nan was told she had skin cancer.
“My grandad is being monitored as he currently doesn’t require treatment and my Nan’s cancer has completely gone. I’ll be thinking of them both when I’m running the 10k at Race for Life on Saturday July 22nd.”
Andrea Corkhill, Head of Cancer Trials at SCTU, said: “We are so proud of Katie for all her fundraising for Cancer Research UK. As a unit which receives core-funding from the charity, we rely on people like Katie and all those who are raising money by taking part in Race for Life which helps make sure our life-saving trials can continue.
“We are at the forefront of clinical research, with trials that are testing the latest innovations in targeted cancer treatments, immunotherapy treatments which can boost the body’s own immune system to fight cancer, and better diagnostic tests to try and catch cancer earlier when it is more treatable. None of this could happen without people’s generous donations and we want to say a massive thank you to everyone taking part in Race for Life events.”
This is the 30th year of Race for Life and participants will receive an exclusive medal to mark the milestone.
Every year around 53,500 people are diagnosed with cancer in the South East ** and one in two people in the UK born after 1960 will get cancer in their lifetime.*** Money raised at Race for Life enables scientists to find new ways to prevent, diagnose and treat cancer - helping to save more lives.
Elisa Mitchell, Cancer Research UK’s spokesperson in Hampshire, said: “We are grateful to Katie for her support.
“Sadly, cancer affects all of us in some way. We’ve seen survival rates in the UK double in the last forty years thanks to the tireless efforts of researchers. Science is winning but this can only happen with the continued support of fundraisers up and down the country.
“Whether people are living with cancer, taking part in honour of or in memory of a loved one with cancer, or signing up to protect their own children’s future, everyone has a reason to Race for Life. We want to make sure that everyone can join the Race for Life movement. Our participants come from different backgrounds, with different stories, but with one thing in common - the determination to help beat cancer.
“Together we can bring about a future free from the fear of cancer. So we’re asking people across Southampton: Who will you Race for?”
Cancer Research UK’s Race for Life raises funds for world-class research to help beat 200 types of cancer - including bowel cancer, breast cancer, prostate cancer, lung cancer, testicular cancer, brain cancer, children’s cancers and leukaemia.
Chief executive of Standard Life, part of Phoenix Group, Andy Curran, said: “We are extremely proud to have been chosen as the headline sponsor of Cancer Research UK’s Race for Life. This sponsorship will help encourage participation and raise funds for life-saving research to help beat cancer.”
To enter Race For Life, visit raceforlife.org
To donate to Katie’s page head to: https://fundraise.cancerresearchuk.org/page/katies-giving-page-2405
Notes for editors
* The Race for Life entry fee only covers the cost of event delivery. Money raised by participants goes towards life-saving research. In 2023 we will be asking for a £50 minimum sponsorship. If any Race for Life events are cancelled, people will be entitled to a refund of their entry fee.
** Based on the average annual number of new cases of all cancers combined excluding non-melanoma skin cancer (ICD10 C00-C97 excluding C44) diagnosed in the South East region of England between 2017 and 2019. Source: CancerData (part of NHS England) Cancer incidence statistics, England, Accessed February 2023. https://www.cancerdata.nhs.uk/
*** Based on Ahmad AS, Ormiston-Smith N, Sasieni PD. Trends in the lifetime risk of developing cancer in Great Britain: Comparison of risk for those born in 1930 to 1960(link is external). Br J Cancer 2015;bjc.2014:606.
About Cancer Research UK’s Race for Life
- Cancer Research UK’s Race for Life, in partnership with headline sponsor Standard Life, part of Phoenix Group, is an inspiring series of 3k, 5k, 10k, Pretty Muddy and Pretty Muddy Kids events which raise millions of pounds every year to help beat cancer by funding life-saving research.
- Money raised through Race for Life events funds world-class research to help beat 200 types of cancer. including bowel cancer, prostate cancer, lung cancer, testicular cancer, brain cancer, children’s cancers and leukaemia.
- Race for Life has raised over £940m towards life-saving research since it began 30 years ago.
- More than 10m participants have taken part in Race for Life events since 1994, fundraising for Cancer Research UK
- Find out more and sign up at raceforlife.org
About Cancer Research UK
- Cancer Research UK is the world’s leading cancer charity dedicated to saving lives through research, influence and information.
- Cancer Research UK’s pioneering work into the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer has helped save millions of lives.
- Cancer Research UK has been at the heart of the progress that has already seen survival in the UK double in the last 40 years.
- Today, 2 in 4 people survive their cancer for at least 10 years. Cancer Research UK wants to accelerate progress and see 3 in 4 people surviving their cancer by 2034.
- Cancer Research UK supports research into the prevention and treatment of cancer through the work of over 4,000 scientists, doctors and nurses.
- Together with its partners and supporters, Cancer Research UK is working towards a world where people can live longer, better lives, free from the fear of cancer.
- For further information about Cancer Research UK's work or to find out how to support the charity, please call 0300 123 1022 or visit www.cancerresearchuk.org. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.
About The Southampton Clinical Trials Unit (SCTU):
- The Southampton Clinical Trials Unit (SCTU) is a Cancer Research UK (CRUK) core-funded and National institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) supported CTU which was recently awarded £5.5m from CRUK over
- The SCTU has expertise in the design, conduct and analysis of interventional, multi-centre clinical trials, from phase I first-in-human drug trials to large phase III trials, and with a focus on early diagnosis.
- The SCTU is based within the University of Southampton with offices at the University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust Southampton General Hospital site.
- For more information, visit the SCTU website.
About Standard Life
- Standard Life is a brand that has been trusted to look after people’s life savings for nearly 200 years
- Today it proudly serves millions of customers who come to Standard Life directly, through advisers and through their employers’ pension scheme
- Standard Life is part of Phoenix Group, the largest long-term savings and retirement business in the UK. We’re proud to be building on nearly 200 years of Standard Life heritage together
- Our products include a variety of Pensions, Bonds and Retirement options to suit people’s needs, helping our customers to invest and save for their future. We’re proud to offer a leading range of sustainable and responsible investment options
- We support our customers on their journey to and through retirement with comprehensive, easy-to-understand guidance so they can invest in the right way for their needs and plan a future they feel confident about.