Survivors given tour of a new state-of-the-art Cancer Centre in Manchester
Cancer Research UK’s National Biomarker Centre opens next Friday
Last updated 4th Jun 2024
A new National Biomarker Centre in Manchester will help experts detect cancer at an earlier stage, when there’s more chance of a cure, anticipate how aggressive a patient’s tumour is, predict which treatments are likely to work best, and monitor responses to personalised treatment.
Biomarkers encompass a plethora of different tests that enable clinicians to manage a patient’s individual cancer in the best way possible.
Cancer Research UK have pledged to invest £2.5m into the National Biomarker Centre each year as part of their annual £26m investment in Manchester.
The opening has been welcomed by three individuals from Greater Manchester, each of whom owes their life to the power of cancer research.
Asia Sharif, who lives in Manchester city centre, has just been given the momentous news that she is cancer free after being diagnosed with stage 4 Hodgkin lymphoma last year.
The 26-year-old NatWest software engineer received chemotherapy at The Christie and her eggs frozen to preserve her future fertility.
She said: “It’s overwhelming and amazing to see the example where my biopsy came through, and I just think that it’s going to be an amazing advancement.
“It’s going to change not just the lives of cancer patients, but even the lives of those who haven’t been diagnosed yet.”
Carolyn Hall, from Whitefield, had just celebrated her 40th birthday and her youngest child was aged four when she was diagnosed with breast cancer.
Now 52, she has had a mastectomy, reconstructive surgery, and underwent chemotherapy at The Christie.
Carolyn says, “when I was under The Christie for my chemotherapy we had to wait hours-and-hours-and-hours for the medicine to come from AstraZeneca in Macclesfield.
“In the future it will be possible for it to be made here and it will be a lot quicker for people to get the medication that they need”.
Sharon Quennell, from Chadderton in Oldham, was diagnosed with breast cancer 24 years ago after noticing a lump on her left breast, and then underwent surgery followed by 12 weeks of chemotherapy treatment.
Next year she will celebrate her quarter of a century of being cancer free.
Sharon says, “when you think about the continuous work that’s being done here and around Manchester alone,
“The fact that this amount of research is around us is amazing.
“If that research wasn’t there then I wouldn’t be here today. Simple”.