Sheffield TV presenter and breast cancer survivor calls on party leaders to make cancer top election priority
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As polling day fast-approaches, BBC and ITV presenter Julia Bradbury has 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.
Julia, who grew up in Sheffield, is a breast cancer survivor, and was diagnosed in 2021.
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Hide AdHighlighting 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 across Yorkshire to show their support by following in Julia’s footsteps and signing the letter at cruk.org/letter.
They have until today to join over 20,000 supporters, scientists and stars, including actors Stephen Graham and Daisy Edgar Jones, comedian John Bishop and TV presenter Alison Hammond, who have given it their backing.
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Hide AdWith around half a million cancer cases a year projected in the UK by 2040 – of which more than an estimated 43,000 could be in Yorkshire and The Humber* - the need for people across the region to have their say is clear.
Cancer Research UK’s letter reads: “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 Yorkshire, Nicki Embleton, 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 Julia for her support.
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“She understands the devastating impact of a cancer diagnosis all too well after being diagnosed with breast cancer in 2021.
”We hope people across Yorkshire 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 Yorkshire and The Humber and across the UK.”
Sign the charity’s open letter to party leaders at cruk.org/letter.
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