Charity Invests £1m In Cancer Research

£1m is being invested in cancer research in Northern Ireland by the Friends of the Cancer Centre Charity.

The Charity, based at the Cancer Centre at Belfast City Hospital, has partnered with Queen’s Centre for Cancer Research and Cell Biology (CCRCB) to provide a £900,000 funding injection for research into clinical trials over the next three years.

The investment will be delivered through an annual grant of £300,000 over a three year period and will allow the CCRCB to increase the clinical capacity of the specialist team that plans and delivers clinical trials.

Colleen Shaw, chief executive of Friends of the Cancer Centre, said: "This is not a donation in our eyes; this is a financial investment in the future of local cancer research and in the future of cancer care in Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland has become a world leader in cancer care and the Cancer Centre at Belfast City Hospital provides the highest level of treatment available.

"Northern Ireland, through the team at CCRCB, has been at the forefront of the drive to find the latest and best ways to treat all kinds of cancer and clinical trials have become a vital weapon in this. As a charity whose focus is on supporting those affected by cancer, we recognise the potential that lies in clinical trials and the direct benefits they can have on a patient’s life. For us, this investment is also hugely important as this is not money that will disappear into the often unseen world of cancer research, as it will directly impact people affected by cancer, here and now."

David Waugh, Director of the Centre for Cancer Research and Cell Biology (CCRCB) at Queen’s University, said: "We cannot emphasise enough how important this funding is. It permits us to increase the capacity of specialist staff we need to implement these world leading and life changing clinical trials. Thanks to the support of Friends of the Cancer Centre, the next three years are set to be a very exciting time for us as we now have a dedicated resource in the Cancer Centre to conduct these trials that take forward innovative discovery from our research and strive for better outcomes for patients."

Friends of the Cancer Centre is one of the leading cancer charities in Northern Ireland working to support cancer patients, their families and carers through key projects in the areas of research, patient comfort and care, clinical care and equipment.

Over the next three years, Friends of the Cancer centre has committed over £2m to local research alone.

(IT/CD)