SPONSORED EDITORIAL

Meet cancer survivors Vic and Babs. Here’s why they’re leaving a gift to Cancer Research UK in their Wills.

Around 9,300* people in Kent are diagnosed with cancer each year. That’s why research into finding new, kinder treatments and improved tests is so vital.

And research requires funding.

Many research projects across the UK, such as at the University of Kent, benefit from the generosity of people leaving a gift to Cancer Research UK in their Will .

Vic and Babs from London have both been affected by cancer.

Here, Vic tells his story about cancer and why both he and Babs are leaving a share of their estate as gifts in their Wills to Cancer Research UK.

“Babs and I met in 1973 when my late wife, Jo, worked with Babs at the same primary school.

“With Babs’ late husband, Bob, we became a foursome of friends and would spend time playing bowls and table tennis and go out dancing together. Jo died of bowel cancer in 2006 and Babs lost Bob in 2010.

“I’ve had cancer twice. The first was cancer of the larynx 26 years ago. I was successfully treated with radiotherapy, although I lost my voice for six weeks. I had to wear a specially-made mask, which was then bolted to the table so that my head and neck didn’t move during the radiotherapy.

“They offered me the mask to take home after the final session, but I politely declined! Quite a few years later, I was diagnosed with basal cell skin cancer on my face and scalp and was given the option of being treated with surgery or a cream. I opted for the cream, which left me looking very blotchy and red for a short while but was successful in eradicating the lesions.

CLICK HERE TO GET YOUR FREE GIFTS IN WILLS GUIDE

“It makes you excited to hear about the research and think that you can play a part”

“Surviving cancer twice and losing Jo to bowel cancer, which spread to her liver and lungs, has motivated me to support Cancer Research UK. Being invited on lab tours and seeing the research is very inspirational. Hearing about new initiatives such as exploring the potential of a ‘breath test’ to detect cancer is very exciting. I hope for the day when no-one has to fear cancer.”

Vic’s wife Babs said: “For many people the word cancer still has that dread factor. When my late husband was ill, I used to say my prayers and say, ‘There’s one piece of the puzzle still missing, please let them find it’.

“The more funding Cancer Research UK has from gifts in Wills, and other income, the more research they can do and find the missing pieces of the puzzle and save lives.

“These days, there are so many new treatments and that’s brilliant. It makes you excited to hear about the research and think that you can play a part in furthering research.

“We found the process of leaving a gift in our will to Cancer Research UK straightforward. We used the Gifts in Wills guide which explained everything we needed to know about how to leave a gift in our Wills.”

Gifts in Wills fund over a third of our life-saving research. These vital legacies, together with the commitment of the researchers to make progress are so important to helping those in the future who face cancer.

To find out more, get your free Gifts in Wills guide click here .

Together we will beat cancer.

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