TV PERSONALITY Sharon Osbourne, interior designer Kelly Hoppen and actor Jimmy Akingbola are calling for the next Government to help save more lives from cancer.
As polling day fast-approaches, the London trio, plus other celebrities, have signed an open letter from Cancer Research UK urging party leaders to make the general election a turning point for people affected by the disease.
Sharon’s husband, former rock star Ozzy, is a colon cancer survivor, Kelly is a breast cancer survivor and Jimmy lost his brother Segun to the disease.
Highlighting the need to tackle cancer waiting times, unequal access to diagnosis and treatment and an estimated £1bn funding gap for life-saving research, the letter urges party leaders to make cancer a priority in their manifestos.
The charity says a long-term cancer strategy for England is needed to help transform survival.
Now it’s issuing a rallying cry for people to show their support by following in Sharon, Kelly and Jimmy’s footsteps and signing the letter at cruk.org/letter.
They have until the 5 June to join a groundswell of over 20,000 supporters, scientists and stars, including actors Stephen Graham and Daisy Edgar Jones and TV presenter Alison Hammond, who have given it their backing.
Sharon put this post on her X (Twitter): https://x.com/MrsSOsbourne/status/1795728151873749111
With around half a million cancer cases a year projected in the UK by 2040 – of which around an estimated 48,000 could be in London* – the need for people across the city to have their say is clear.
Cancer Research UK’s letter powerfully brings figures like these into sharp focus for party leaders stating, “Behind each statistic is a real person affected by cancer. Partners holding hands waiting for news. Friends missing at birthdays. Parents up late worrying.”
The charity’s spokesperson for London Lynn Daly, said: “We’ve made huge progress in beating cancer over the last 50 years, but it remains the defining health issue of our time. So, with the countdown to the general election underway, we’re grateful to Sharon, Kelly and Jimmy for their support. They understand the devastating impact of a cancer diagnosis only too well.
“Cancer cases are rising and, every year, around 13,600 people in the capital lose their lives to the disease**. That’s why we hope Londoners will seize this opportunity to help turn the tide by signing our letter to party leaders and urging them to make cancer a priority in their manifestos.
“Our ambition for the future is simple: longer, better lives for people in London and across the UK.”
Sign the charity’s open letter to party leaders at cruk.org/letter
