Health Matters: Cancer research given £25,000

A ground-breaking breast cancer research project based at the University of Leeds has received a £25,000 boost from Hallmark Cards as part of its annual Cards for a Cure campaign for Mother's Day.

In its fourth year, Cards for a Cure has now donated 1m to Breast Cancer Campaign's UK-wide research projects and Action Breast Cancer, a programme of the Irish Cancer Society, since 2007.

Led by Drs Valerie Speirs and Deborah Holiday at the University of Leeds, this pioneering research project hopes to discover more about what influences breast cancer development. The project will help to improve predictions of how a person's disease will progress and ensure patients receive the most appropriate treatments.

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Dr Speirs said: "This is a huge sum of money and we are extremely grateful to Hallmark for continuing to support Breast Cancer Campaign, which in turn benefits the important work that we do.

"There are nearly 46,000 new cases of breast cancer diagnosed each year so it's really important that we understand how the disease develops; particularly why some patients with the same type of cancer respond differently to treatments.

"This project will help us predict the way the disease may progress and in turn help clinicians provide the most effective treatment for the patient, which may ultimately mean a better chance of survival."

Tamsyn Johnston-Hughes, communications manager at Hallmark Cards, said: "Breast Cancer is the most common cancer in the UK and affects many thousands of women and a number of men every year, as well as impacting on the lives of friends and family.

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"It is for this reason that the research being carried out by the University of Leeds is so significant as crucially it may one day help to find a cure for people with breast cancer worldwide. Our Cards for a Cure campaign donation directly benefits this on-the-ground research and is vital to ensuring that it can continue.

Charlie Hardwick, who plays Val Pollard in Emmerdale, visited the hospital to see the work done there.

"It was a real honour to be allowed behind the scenes at the Leeds Institute for Molecular Medicine to see for myself the life changing work that is being carried out by researchers there.

"I lost a very dear friend to breast cancer and one of my closest friends is currently making a remarkable recovery since being diagnosed last summer. For all women this disease is very close to our hearts. I'm privileged to lend my support to those pioneers who are helping us to solve this dreadful disease."

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