In an earlier post I gave an example of why I wanted to support Practical Action for my "marathon challenge", and I'll talk a lot more about this in future posts. But I wanted to talk a little about why I chose CLIC Sargent as the other charity I'm running for in 2011.
Like most people, I have relatives and friends who have suffered various forms of cancer, and sadly have lost some of them to the disease. All of them, were, however adults, and while the premature death of anyone is tragic, it's at least some consolation that all of them enjoyed many years of mostly healthy life.
We know more about the causes of cancer than we used to, and it's clear that some cancers can be avoided by choosing to live a more healthy lifestyle - by avoiding alcohol, smoking, and eating a more healthy diet.
According to Sarah Woolnough, Cancer Research UK’s director of policy: “We do know that up to half of all cancers could be prevented by changes to lifestyle such as giving up smoking, keeping a healthy weight and cutting down on alcohol. People can also reduce their risk by eating a healthy balanced diet that is high in fibre, fruit and vegetables and low in red and processed meat. All these things, along with taking regular exercise and avoiding sunburn, can reduce the risk of developing cancer.”
While this wasn't widely known to, say, my parents' or grandparents' generations, it is known now and so we can all do more now to minimise our chances of developing cancer in adult life. Of course, I know that there are many cancers which have no real correlation with lifestyle factors, and there is still plenty of work to do to identify the causes of all cancers and to develop effective treatments for them.
For children to be diagnosed with cancer seems to be a particularly harsh twist of fate, both for the children themselves and for their parents. They have had little time to enjoy a healthy childhood, and must undergo lengthy and sometimes unpleasant hospital treatment. Fortunately the outlook for childhood cancer is improving, and according to CLIC Sargent's website, seven out of ten children survive childhood cancer. But it seems to me that children suffering from cancer are the ultimate "innocent victims".
CLIC Sargent provides a host of services to support children with cancer and their families:
And that's why I'm running to raise funds for CLIC Sargent.
Like most people, I have relatives and friends who have suffered various forms of cancer, and sadly have lost some of them to the disease. All of them, were, however adults, and while the premature death of anyone is tragic, it's at least some consolation that all of them enjoyed many years of mostly healthy life.
We know more about the causes of cancer than we used to, and it's clear that some cancers can be avoided by choosing to live a more healthy lifestyle - by avoiding alcohol, smoking, and eating a more healthy diet.
According to Sarah Woolnough, Cancer Research UK’s director of policy: “We do know that up to half of all cancers could be prevented by changes to lifestyle such as giving up smoking, keeping a healthy weight and cutting down on alcohol. People can also reduce their risk by eating a healthy balanced diet that is high in fibre, fruit and vegetables and low in red and processed meat. All these things, along with taking regular exercise and avoiding sunburn, can reduce the risk of developing cancer.”
While this wasn't widely known to, say, my parents' or grandparents' generations, it is known now and so we can all do more now to minimise our chances of developing cancer in adult life. Of course, I know that there are many cancers which have no real correlation with lifestyle factors, and there is still plenty of work to do to identify the causes of all cancers and to develop effective treatments for them.
For children to be diagnosed with cancer seems to be a particularly harsh twist of fate, both for the children themselves and for their parents. They have had little time to enjoy a healthy childhood, and must undergo lengthy and sometimes unpleasant hospital treatment. Fortunately the outlook for childhood cancer is improving, and according to CLIC Sargent's website, seven out of ten children survive childhood cancer. But it seems to me that children suffering from cancer are the ultimate "innocent victims".
CLIC Sargent provides a host of services to support children with cancer and their families:
- providing nurses and social workers to support families;
- running a helpline for parents of children with cancer;
- paying for holidays for children with cancer and their families;
- providing "homes from home" to make visiting remote specialist hospitals easier;
And that's why I'm running to raise funds for CLIC Sargent.
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