Finding cures for cancer is my dream

26th June 2024

13-year-old Alice, who has always had a passion for science and research, was devastated to lose two of her beloved grandparents in the space of just five weeks in 2021. After asking herself the question: “how can we cure cancer?”, Alice got in touch with Worldwide Cancer Research to help her put together a school project on the subject.

Alice has always wanted to help others and dreams of helping find cancer cures to give people more time with their loved ones:

“I am very lucky to have known my nanny and grandad for so long, because some people do not have that experience. Hopefully research can bring new cures so other children can spend many more years with their grandparents. I miss them both so much. I know they are looking down on me and will be extremely proud of me. They motivate me to do my best in everything I do.”

With her interest in cancer research sparked, Alice began reaching out to organisations to find out more about their work. That is when she discovered Worldwide Cancer Research and was delighted to receive a response from our research team. Alice decided to focus an upcoming school project on cancer research and in December last year she jumped at the chance to meet a team of researchers working on one of our funded projects at University College London.

Introducing the Curestarters of today to the Curestarters of tomorrow

Having heard about Alice's passion for cancer research, Dr Jamie Dean was delighted to be able to share an opportunity to visit his lab and hear more about his research. He and his team are working on tackling glioblastoma, a rare form of brain cancer, by understanding how giving radiotherapy with particular time intervals between doses can make the treatment more effective.

Watch the video of Alice's visit to Dr Dean's cancer research lab

"It was amazing! My passion will continue to grow going forwards and I will take every opportunity available. Finding cures for cancer is my dream."

"I felt very much at home in the lab. It was everything I had imagined, and yet so much more. I was overwhelmed at first, but in a good way. Touring the labs, everything was new and exciting. I had not seen a centrifuge before and the Bunsen burners were extremely high tech compared to the ones I use at school. I was able to see and learn so much. I felt extremely lucky to see these areas and to have a close-up view of science research, which is something I think about so much."

Like Alice, Dr Dean has also personally felt the impact of cancer, which was one of the driving forces behind him getting into research too:

"The reason I decided to go into cancer research is partly personal, my grandfather and father have both had different cancers. But, beyond that, cancer is such an important problem worldwide and it is only going to become a bigger problem as more people are surviving and living through other diseases."

"I am sure as long as there are a few Alices out there, we will be in good hands for the future."

"It is really exciting and great to see Alice's enthusiasm for cancer research. As a supporter of Worldwide Cancer Research, she does so much to help fund the multidisciplinary research that we do, and research is the only way in which we can improve outcomes for people with cancer in the future."

Seeing our work up close has further inspired Alice and spurred her on to become a researcher one day. But you don't have to be a cancer researcher to help us reach a day when no life is cut short by cancer. Everyone can play their own role in bringing forward cancer breakthroughs. We cannot stop cancer without you.

Our incredible Curestarters do so much, not only to help our researchers work towards world-leading breakthroughs in cancer treatment, but also by allowing us to fund more projects in the future - ensuring that the researchers of tomorrow, like Alice, will be able to continue searching for new cures.

Donate and become a Curestarter today