A new cancer charity is another big winner as a result of the Betfred League of Legends series screened on Setanta TV on Friday nights when former Big Brother winner and now TV presenter Craig Phillips threw his darts to great effect at the event in Blackburn to win £1,300 for UCARE – Urology Cancer Research and Education. 

New diagnoses of Urological cancers ( kidney, bladder, testis and prostate ) now outnumber those of breast cancer but public awareness still remains very vague.  The darts community was shocked to learn that two times World Champion Dennis Priestley was to have surgery earlier this year for prostate cancer and they were delighted to see him recover and win a tournament in Bristol a few weeks ago.  These cancers are not age or gender specific and there are 55,000 new cases of urological cancers diagnosed each year.

Sponsor’s Betfred have generously backed UCARE by agreeing to donate £10 for every point scored by the celebrities with their nine darts at these events.  In Blackburn Craig, who generously donated his £70,000 winners prize from Big Brother to his best friend’s niece so she could receive urgent medical attention in the USA, stepped up to the oche and scored 130.  If celebrities Duncan Norvell, Tim Healey and Stan Boardman and others can emulate Craig then UCARE will have valuable funds to help bring hope to cancer sufferers everywhere.

Three times World Champion John Lowe, a good friend of Dennis Priestley, has been instrumental in forming the association between the Betfred League of Legends and UCARE.

“UCARE’s work in discovering new ways to fight these cancers is to be applauded and I am delighted that Betfred and the League of Legends have agreed to support the charity. Well done to Craig and a big thank you to all the other celebs who have been prepared to commit their time to taking part in the Legends events to raise money for UCARE”.

UCARE CHARITY FUNDS GROUND BREAKING CANCER RESEARCH PROJECTS IN OXFORD  

Formed in 2007 with the aims of supporting urology cancer research, education and the development of new treatments, UCARE, the Oxford-based charity has already distributed £60,000 of grants to support ground-breaking research projects in Oxford that will benefit cancer sufferers locally and bring hope to urological cancer patients worldwide. 

“The devastating effects of urological cancers on the general population in the UK has never received the exposure the undeniable weight of statistics warrant.  These cancers represent nearly 20% of all cancers diagnosed in the UK each year ( even more than the numbers diagnosed with breast cancer ) with over 55,000 new cases of cancers in the prostate, kidney, bladder and testis diagnosed every year - and every year 12,000 men die from prostate cancer”, says Dr Andrew Protheroe, Consultant Medical Oncologist and UCARE Trustee.

All projects receiving UCARE grants are carefully assessed by a Scientific Advisory Committee to ensure they meet the charity’s objectives and the first projects chosen have the ability to change the way we currently treat cancer and they offer hope to many.

One such project, part funded by UCARE, that is being undertaken at a unit based at the Churchill hospital involves killing off cancer tumours by using ultrasound!

The clinical trials taking place on this Chinese machine are the only ones currently being undertaken in Europe or America and this procedure may make keyhole surgery look outdated and unnecessarily invasive for certain types of tumours.
                                                                                   
The ultrasound machine passes the beams through the body to focus heat on the tumour and kill it.  This leaves surrounding healthy tissue undamaged – the Holy Grail of cancer treatments. And if the treatment proves as worthwhile as researchers hope, patient wellbeing and operational savings to the NHS could prove considerable.
                                                                          
“It has the potential to make certain operations for cancer surgery, with all its associated risks, redundant”, says David Cranston, Consultant Urologist and UCARE trustee, whose department controls the HIFU ( High Intensity Focused Ultrasound ) unit.

“HIFU machines cost around £2m, including training and installation. But once installed the cost savings compared to invasive surgery can be very great, due to dramatically faster recovery times and minimal side-effects.  There is also less risk, without surgery, of patients contracting an infection as they recover. This may save lives as well as NHS costs”.

Another remarkable clinical trial is currently being carried out by Dr Val Macaulay and her team at the internationally renowned Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine.  UCARE is providing funds to pay for a researcher who will start work at a crucial time for Dr Macaulay’s team.

The team previously identified a cellular protein that is vital to the survival of cancer cells in the prostate, bladder and kidney. In response to these and other research findings, several major pharmaceutical companies have created drugs to inhibit the protein’s ‘cancer creating’ function.

Dr Macaulay’s team is now commencing clinical trials to test the efficacy of these drugs. The research project is designed to develop a treatment for prostate, kidney and bladder cancers that have not responded to traditional surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatments. 

UCARE has also provided funding to help set up TV Nuts, an interactive, web-based support group for men with testicular cancer living in the Thames Valley. Research conducted by Gemma Crane, Clinical Nurse Specialist at Churchill Hospital, showed that patients with testicular cancer need more information and support, and that young men prefer to turn to the internet.

Churchill Hospital had an urgent need for a dedicated urological cancer research nurse to work on research projects and clinical trials. Thanks to the generosity of UCARE’s donors, the charity has been able to provide a grant to pay for a part-time research nurse at the Hospital. The nurse will assist research doctors with data collection and facilitate the collection of tissue samples for laboratory research. The nurse will also support patients who are part of the clinical trials for new anti-cancer treatments.
                                                                                        
The recent fund raising dinner at Blenheim Palace raised over £50,000 for UCARE and it included a most generous donation from Everest on the night of £32,000, which was graciously accepted by UCARE Chairman, Ian Kirkham.

UCARE Trustee Tony Henman says: “Supporters from Oxfordshire and surrounding counties have helped to raise money in all sorts of ways including taking part in sponsored events, organising their clubs to raise money and donating items for auction at our public launch. We’re thrilled and inspired by the generous support UCARE has received during its first year.  These efforts have enabled us to provide funds for a wide range of initiatives, carried out here in Oxford where we have world class research facilities, designed to give hope to all those afflicted by urological cancers. 
                                                                              
“But we still need more funds to carry out our objectives and there is one particular fund raising event that I hope will attract your support – The Kilimanjaro Challenge.   A group of UCARE supporters are attempting to reach the summit of Africa’s highest mountain in February 2009 and among them will be two times cancer survivor Jonathan Acott and Andrew Ward who had testicular cancer and lost his right leg through complications”.

For more information about The Kilimanjaro Challenge and ways you can help UCARE visit the web site:
www.ucare-oxford.org.uk
or
Call: Michael Heal on 0775 157 1936: michael.heal@btconnect.com
or
Catherine House on: 01865 848640:  ucare@tiscali.co.uk