The Jane Tomlinson Appeal was established by the late Jane Tomlinson CBE to raise funds for children's and cancer charities.
Cancer Research UK
www.cancerresearchuk.org
Registered Charity No: 1089464
Today 790 people in the UK will be given the news 'you have cancer'. One of Jane Tomlinson's responses to her cancer diagnosis was a determination to raise as much money as she could to support research into the disease and to show other cancer patients how expectations can be exceeded. In 2001, Jane took part in her first sponsored running event - the Cancer Research UK Race for Life in Leeds. She went on to raise well over £200,000 towards Cancer Research UK's work to improve its understanding of cancer and find out how to prevent, diagnose and treat different forms of the disease. She also inspired many others to raise money for the charity.
In 2003 Cancer Research UK was delighted to recognise Jane's contribution by dedicating to her a leading research lab at its Clinical Centre at St James's University Hospital, Leeds. Work being carried out in the Jane Tomlinson Laboratory is in a new area of research called proteomics - using the differences in proteins in normal and cancer cells to seek and define new diagnostics and treatments for cancer. Thanks to people like Jane, those working in this lab, alongside the 4,250 other world-class doctors, scientists and nurses funded by Cancer Research UK across the UK, are forever reminded just how important their work is.
Today, thanks to research, the good news is that more and more people are living with cancer and new treatments and better detection mean that patients will be much more likely to survive.
But although Cancer Research UK is making tremendous progress with its vision to beat cancer, the premature loss of Jane reminds us all of the immense scale of the challenge that lies ahead.
Together with its partners and supporters, Cancer Research UK's vision is to beat cancer. It carries out world-class research to improve understanding of the disease and find out how to prevent, diagnose and treat different kinds of cancer and ensures that its findings are used to improve the lives of all cancer patients. Cancer Research UK helps people to understand cancer, the progress that is being made and the choices each person can make. It works in partnership with others to achieve the greatest impact in the global fight against cancer.
"Cancer Research UK is extremely grateful for the support from Jane's Appeal over the years. I am privileged to have worked with Jane and Mike Tomlinson from soon after the start of their fundraising history. Jane raised almost £4,000 at her first fundraising event, the Leeds Race for Life in 2001 - a significant amount in itself. Yet today, just eight years later, we are celebrating a total of £2.6 million raised by Jane and her legacy - enabling Cancer Research UK and numerous other charities make a real difference to so many people."
Helen Jackson, Running Senior Manager for Cancer Research UK
