Grants
Aside from supporting headline research projects, ACT provides grants to assist in the treatment and care of those suffering from cancer.
For more information on how to apply for an ACT grant, please click on the link below.
July 2022 – Wellbeing of Women – £5,000
A grant of £5000 was given to Wellbeing of Women for a 3-year project (June 2020 – June 2023) to develop a risk prediction model for endometrial (womb) cancer. Womb cancer is the fourth most common cancer in women, after breast, lung and bowel cancer and incidences have doubled in the last 20 years. Around 10,000 women are diagnosed annually in the UK and 2,500 die. If caught early surgery is very effective, but fewer than half the women in whom the cancer has spread beyond the womb and into the pelvis will live beyond five years. The end result of this work will be a programme available on a GP’s computer which will have drop down options for responses that will generate a personalised 10-year and lifetime risk of womb cancer.
This tool is being developed by Dr Kitson, a National Institute of Health Research Academic Clinical Lecturer and Sub-specialty trainee in Gynaecological Oncology at the division of cancer services at Manchester University (based at St Mary’s Hospital). We will keep you informed as this important project progresses.
June 2020 – Leukaemia & Myeloma Research UK – £3,000
This project seeks to develop a free stem cell storage service to families at risk of cancer. The goal is to offer vulnerable families the opportunity to store their baby’s cord blood for 25 years in case the other child, or any other family member, may require it for treatment in future.
October 2019 – King’s College London – Head & Neck Cancer – £5,000
We supported the Centre for Oral, Clinical and Translational Sciences at King’s College London for Head & Neck Cancer patient reconstruction. Professor Luciana Di Silvio’s work focuses on tissue engineering, aiming to regenerate damaged or diseased tissue and helping cancer patients regainthe ability to eat, swallow and talk.
Paul Strickland Scanner Centre (2019)
We supported the Paul Strickland Scanner Centre in their study into establishing Whole-Body MRI as the ‘gold standard’ method for breast cancer patients. This enables ‘precision medicine’ to give the right therapy, for the right patients, at the right time and for the right duration, which could potentially improve survival rates.
Siobhan Mather (2018)
Siobhan, aged two, was diagnosed with Stage 4 neuroblastoma and subsequently underwent various treatments in the UK. To further her chances of a full recovery we supported efforts to bring her a vaccine available only in America.
Following the devastating news that Siobhan passed away at just 4 years of age, we supported research by the GOSH UCL Institute of Child Health into neuroblastoma in her name.
March 2022 – Royal Surrey County Hospital – £5,000
In March a grant of £5,000 was awarded to support Targeted Bladder Cancer Therapy Research Project. This research project, lead by tainee urology surgeon Miss Madhavi Natarjan, will further investigate the role of immune cells in bladder cancer patients having cystectomy surgery.
July 2020 – University Of Surrey – £4,744
In July 2020, £4,744 was awarded to to Dr. Annels’ team at the University of Surrey to support research investigating immunotherapies for bladder cancer.
April 2021- Spencer McCall – £5,000
In Feb 2019, a young footballer, Spencer McCall received the diagnosis of Ewing’s Sarcoma, a rare bone cancer. After 14 cycles of chemotherapy and 3 major surgeries, he heard the devastating news that the cancer had spread to his lungs. When chemotherapy failed to stop this aggressive cancer, he
searched for alternative therapies abroad with the full support of his UK oncologist.
Many people rallied around to support him with his treatment costs; ACT was delighted to a part of this effort awarding a grant of £5,000. It’s been an incredible & difficult journey; however following promising early results Spencers condition deteriorated. Tragically, Spencer passed away in July 2021 at only 26 years of age. May he rest in peace.
Action Medical Research £2,000
We presented a cheque to Jenny Edward the director of fundraising for Action Medical Research at their Offices in Victoria in June 2019 for £2,000 for Neuroblastoma.. We only gave them £2,000 in 2019 because the year before we had already given them £3,000! In 2018 the year before, you presented a cheque to Professor Anderson at Great Ormond Street on behalf of Action Medical Research. for £3,000 (Photo of you, Clare, Luigi ,your girls and Professor Anderson)
December 2019 – King’s College London – Mental Health Support – £3,000
Our trustees presented Dr Mieke Van Hemelrijck of the TOUR department (translational oncolgy and urology research) with £3,000 for Agustina Bessa, a self funded PhD student to develop and trial a mental well-being support tool for patients with bladder cancer.
Action Medical Research (2018)
Action Medical Research is a children’s charity supporting the research project of Professor John Anderson who is developing a Cancer-specific immunotherapy for the treatment of neuroblastoma.