2024 in Review: Ten Milestone Moments

As we enter the new year, Yorkshire Cancer Research would like to say thank you to those who continue to support the charity’s vital work.

Sadly, people in Yorkshire are more likely to have their lives cut short by cancer than almost anywhere else in England. As Yorkshire’s cancer charity, Yorkshire Cancer Research is dedicated to changing this.

The charity funds £64m of pioneering cancer research and innovative new services to prevent, diagnose and treat cancer in Yorkshire. These life-giving medical breakthroughs are helping more people live longer, healthier lives, free of cancer.

Here are ten milestone moments from 2024 made possible by supporters of Yorkshire Cancer Research who, together, are helping to save lives in Yorkshire - and beyond.

More than 600 people signed up to support Yorkshire Cancer Research by walking, running and cycling in challenge events across the region. These included the Yorkshire Three Peaks, Yorkshire Marathon and the Great North Run.

Among those who crossed the finish line is Tim Maycock, a GP from Pocklington, who ran the Great North Run dressed as a giant Yorkshire rose.

Tim said, “I see a lot of patients with cancer as part of my job, and I wanted to raise awareness about how important it is for people with cancer to stay active.”

Over 85% of Yorkshire is rural, with some areas experiencing significantly higher cancer rates than the national average.

Funded by Yorkshire Cancer Research and led by Newcastle University, the ‘RURALLY’ study looked into why people in rural communities are less likely to survive cancer and the barriers to getting diagnosed early.

These findings will help inform innovative ways of supporting people in rural areas to seek help if they notice anything abnormal about their health.

The charity’s pioneering cancer exercise programme, Active Together, was found to significantly improve the likelihood of survival for people with cancer.

Researchers at the Advanced Wellbeing Research Centre (AWRC) at Sheffield Hallam University found that the programme boosted survival rates by 10% for people with bowel, lung and upper gastrointestinal cancers. In addition, 97% of patients reported improvements in their health and wellbeing.

It is estimated that programmes like Active Together could also save the NHS more than £100 million over five years if introduced nationally.

2024 saw the launch of the charity’s Yorkshire’s Big Brew, encouraging people in Yorkshire to pop the kettle on and get together with friends, family and colleagues in support of life-saving cancer research.

Tea-makers across the region hosted over 140 tea parties and coffee mornings, raising over £7,000. 

From hikes and skydives to fashion shows and sporting tournaments, over 120 fundraising events took place in communities across Yorkshire, raising a total of over £200,000 to help save lives.

On Yorkshire Day, Yorkshire Cancer Research launched the Change Yorkshire’s Cancer Story campaign to urge the Government and Yorkshire’s political leaders to commit to a long-term cancer strategy.

MPs from across the region called for stronger action to be taken to prevent, diagnose and treat cancer more effectively in Yorkshire. Julian Smith MP was welcomed to the Yorkshire Cancer Research shop in Ripon to discuss the campaign. Tom Gordon, MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough, raised the issue in Parliament, highlighting the need for fairer investment in cancer research in Yorkshire.

In October, the charity was pleased to see these calls had been heard, with the Government confirming a dedicated national cancer plan alongside the NHS 10-year plan.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves MP praised the success of the charity’s pioneering lung screening programme which has helped pave the way for a national lung screening programme by 2030.

Funded by Yorkshire Cancer Research, in partnership with Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust and University of Leeds, the Leeds Lung Health Check has screened more than 8,800 people and detected 400 lung cancers since 2018.

The programme has now been handed over to the NHS and 600,000 people in Yorkshire will be offered the opportunity to take part in life-saving screening over the next five years.

Results from the Yorkshire Kidney Screening Trial, funded by Yorkshire Cancer Research and led by researchers at the University of Cambridge, showed that offering a kidney cancer scan alongside a lung cancer screening could help detect undiagnosed cases of kidney cancer.

People taking part in the Leeds Lung Health Check were offered an additional abdominal CT scan when attending their mobile screening appointment. Of the kidney cancers identified, 90% were found to be stage 1, when the cancer is often easier to treat.

Researchers will now use data and learnings from the study to undertake a full kidney cancer screening trial in Yorkshire.

Yorkshire Cancer Research is committed to helping prevent smoking-related cancers in Yorkshire.

Launched in January, the Yorkshire Cancer Research Stop Smoking Service has already supported more than 200 people, providing innovative coping strategies and free stop-smoking aids to help them quit for good.

The charity also celebrated the success of the charity-funded QUIT programme in South Yorkshire which saw more than 2,500 people quit smoking after receiving support during their treatment at hospital.

Thanks to additional funding from Yorkshire Cancer Research, Active Together has expanded across Yorkshire, giving people in Barnsley, Rotherham, Doncaster, Wakefield and North Kirklees the opportunity to take part in the pioneering exercise programme.

Active Together has already helped more than 1,000 people in Yorkshire prepare for and recover from their cancer treatment.

The charity’s long-term vision is for everyone with cancer in Yorkshire to be able to benefit from this life-giving programme alongside their hospital treatment.

Yorkshire Cancer Research opened four new shops in Yeadon, Richmond, Hull, and Castleford, giving local communities the opportunity to donate and shop in support of life-saving research.

The shop in Hull is the charity’s largest shop to date and the first in East Yorkshire.

The openings form part of the charity’s target to have a shop on every high street in Yorkshire, with three more shops opening their doors in early 2025.

2025 marks a very special year for Yorkshire Cancer Research – the charity’s 100-year anniversary.

With your support the charity will continue to work with researchers, cancer experts and those affected by cancer to bring more life-saving discoveries to our region. 

Let’s unite for a Yorkshire free from cancer. Thank you.