NORTHWICH MAN URGES PEOPLE TO WALK ALL OVER CANCER

A Northwich man, who is receiving treatment for prostate cancer, is urging people across Cheshire to support Cancer Research UK’s latest fundraising campaign, Walk All Over Cancer.

Graham Bushnell-Wye, a retired scientist from Barnton, is inviting people to sign up now and get sponsored to walk 10,000 steps every day in March to support the charity’s life-saving mission.

Graham was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2013 and has undergone a range of radiotherapy, chemotherapy and hormonal treatments over the years to help control the disease.

Scans last year showed signs of cancer in his bones and he is now participating in a clinical drug trial at The Christie Hospital in Manchester.

Graham, who is married with three grown-up sons, said: “It was a shock to be told within nine months of retiring that I had cancer and the whole family were understandably very concerned for me.

“Over the years I’ve experienced various stages of the disease and a range of different treatments, including a form of internal radiotherapy where implanted radioactive pellets were inserted directly to the site of the cancer.

“Although few options now remain for slowing down the growth of my cancer, science is giving me more precious time with my wife, Mairearad. I hope that new breakthroughs and discoveries will help other men in my situation in the future.”

Graham is a Cancer Research UK Ambassador and a committed fundraiser for the charity. Over the years he has generously raised thousands of pounds by taking part in the London Marathon and many other running events.

Anna Taylor, Cancer Research UK’s spokesperson for the North West, said: “We are extremely grateful to Graham for his incredible dedication and commitment to Cancer Research UK.

“Every step our scientists take towards beating cancer relies on our supporters and signing up to Walk All Over Cancer is a safe and simple way to get involved during these challenging times. Plus, knowing you’ll be helping to save lives is the ultimate motivation.

“We all want 2021 to have a more positive outlook. So why not give yourself a boost by committing to get more active and having an achievable goal to aim for - all in aid of a good cause.”

Ten thousand steps is equal to about five miles, based on the average person’s strides, so by the end of March participants will have clocked up more than 150 miles. This might sound a lot but some people are surprised to find they complete that just going about their daily lives.

That’s quite a challenge for some, but adopting small changes that you can stick to can really add up – whether it’s taking part in conference calls on the go, exploring local beauty spots or treating the dog to a month of extra-long walks.

There are plenty of positive health benefits to walking too. As well as helping towards a healthy body weight, taking part could also take a little weight off the mind. Regular walking is a great stress-reliever and can assist with mental wellbeing by improving mood and sleep.

Keeping check on the number of steps taken each day is a great way to create a sense of achievement and it’s easy to do with smartphone apps, pedometers and wearable activity trackers available to help. Walk All Over Cancer is now integrated with FitBit, so that participants can automatically publish their step count on their fundraising page throughout the month.

Anna added: “With around 42,000 people diagnosed with cancer every year in the North West*, Cancer Research UK is working every day to find new ways to prevent, diagnose and treat the disease.

“The truth is COVID-19 has slowed us down, but we will never stop striving to create better treatments for tomorrow. Every step our scientists take towards beating cancer relies on our supporters. That’s why we need everyone to step up to Walk All Over Cancer.”

Cancer Research UK currently funds almost half of all publicly funded cancer research in the UK and is the only UK charity fighting more than 200 types of cancer.  

Before the pandemic, it was able to spend over £33 million in the North West last year on some of the UK’s leading scientific and clinical research.

To sign up and receive a free fundraising pack, with tips and ideas to help with the challenge, visit cruk.org/walkallover

Participants are being encouraged to use #WalkAllOverCancer and tag @CR_UK when sharing their challenge on social media.

*Based on the average annual number of new cases of all cancers combined excluding non-melanoma skin cancer (ICD10 C00-C97 excluding C44) diagnosed in the North West Region between 2015-2017.

Source: These data were extracted from the Public Health England’s Cancer Analysis System, snapshot CAS1902. Accessed 23/09/2020.This work is only possible because of data from the cancer registry, which is routinely collected by the NHS as part of patient care.

About Cancer Research UK

• Cancer Research UK is the world’s leading cancer charity dedicated to saving lives through research.
• Cancer Research UK’s pioneering work into the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer has helped save millions of lives.
• Cancer Research UK has been at the heart of the progress that has already seen survival in the UK double in the last 40 years.
• Today, 2 in 4 people survive their cancer for at least 10 years. Cancer Research UK’s ambition is to accelerate progress so that by 2034, 3 in 4 people will survive their cancer for at least 10 years.
• Cancer Research UK supports research into all aspects of cancer through the work of over 4,000 scientists, doctors and nurses.
• Together with its partners and supporters, Cancer Research UK's vision is to bring forward the day when all cancers are cured.

For further information about Cancer Research UK's work or to find out how to support the charity, please call 0300 123 1022 or visit www.cancerresearchuk.org. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook

Pictured - Graham Bushnell-Wye, a retired scientist from Barnton.