17/11-09   -   Press releases

Christmas walk returns to help beat breast cancer

Christmas walk returns to help beat breast cancer

Christmas can never be too early! Breast Cancer Campaign’s annual Winter Wonderland Friendship Walk is back to bring festive cheer to Henley-on-Thames while raising money for breast cancer research.

The six-mile stroll will return on Sunday 6 December and Campaign needs you to encourage family and friends to join you for the festive walk along the Thames path and around Remenham Hill and Hambledon Lock.

It’s the third year that Campaign supporter Paula Howard from Henley has organised the walk for the charity after her mother Sue had breast cancer in 2007 and is now doing well. In total, the annual event has raised an impressive £16,000 for breast cancer research.

Paula said: “Raising money for breast cancer research is a cause very close to our hearts and we were thrilled that so many people have joined us for the walk since it first started in 2007. This year we’re hoping that even more people in and around Henley will join us for the festive stroll so that we can continue raising money to help Campaign beat breast cancer."

Kelly Walton, Events Assistant at Breast Cancer Campaign, added: “Last year we had a fabulous turnout and everyone was dressed in festive fancy dress. We’re thrilled to be back in Henley this December to continue spreading our Christmas cheer around the community. The walk is a great excuse to get family and friends together while supporting this very worthwhile cause, so please sign up and support the 46,000 people that are sadly diagnosed with breast cancer in the UK each year."

Registration is £10 for adults and free for children under 16. Everyone is encouraged to wear fancy dress and raise sponsorship for the walk, which starts at 12pm at the Henley-on-Thames Youth Centre. After the walk we will return to the youth centre for Christmas carols and post walk festive refreshments and there will be a prize for the best costume.

Breast Cancer Campaign currently funds three projects in Oxford worth more than £300,800 and the money raised from this walk will help fund a project at the University of Oxford. Professor Leonard is looking to develop a new way of treating breast cancer that has spread to other parts of the body using a virus that is able to target breast cancer cells but leave healthy cells intact. If this technique is successful it could lead to new breast cancer treatments with fewer side effects. By walking with us this Christmas, you can help us take a step closer to beating breast cancer.

If you would like to take part, please call the Events Team on 020 7749 4106 or visit www.friendshipwalks.co.uk. If you can’t make the walk this year, don’t forget to tell your family and friends to support us.

Notes to editors
• Breast Cancer Campaign aims to beat breast cancer by funding innovative world-class research to understand how breast cancer develops, leading to improved diagnosis, treatment, prevention and cure
• Currently it supports 115 research projects, worth over £15.8 million, in 44 centres of excellence across the UK and Ireland
• Breast cancer is the most common cancer in the UK and accounts for nearly one in three of all cancers in women
• In the UK, nearly 46,000 new cases of breast cancer are diagnosed each year - that’s 125 a day
• Visit www.breastcancercampaign.org
• Read Chief Executive Pamela Goldberg’s blog http://pamelagoldbergblog.blogspot.com/
• Breast Cancer Campaign urges women to be breast aware this Breast Cancer Awareness Month and continue throughout the year as early detection can save lives. Follow the five-point code: know what is normal for you, look and feel, know what changes to look for, report any changes without delay and attend a breast screening if aged 50 or over. Women over 70 should contact their GP for a referral.