We’re thrilled to announce our new partnership with Nationwide as part of their Fairer Futures strategy. Over the next two years, Nationwide will fund 30 specialist research staff at The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust. In that time, they will work on 100 clinical trials, with the aim of developing more effective, personalised treatments that save and improve the lives of cancer patients like Pip.
Nationwide Fairer Futures aims to help tackle some of the biggest issues we see in society today, including support for people affected by cancer.
Nationwide colleagues and customers will also be encouraged to get involved in the partnership, through supporting the Charity’s fundraising events including a new active challenge launching in the summer – watch this space!
56-year-old Pip was diagnosed with stage 4 metastatic bowel cancer in October 2016 and has been through a number of treatments and surgery at The Royal Marsden. By 2019, standard treatments had stopped working for Pip but, due to a rare gene defect in her tumours, she was eligible to join an immunotherapy clinical trial.
Pip has been on this trial since November 2019, receiving her treatment in the West Wing Clinical Research Centre which was originally funded through Gifts in Wills left by generous supporters of The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity. It has led to her scans showing no evidence of disease (NED) and she has been doing well ever since. Read more about Pip’s experience here.
“Ultimately, research has saved my life, I wouldn’t be here today if it wasn’t for The Royal Marsden. We need research in order to move forward and discover new treatments, which will help people now and in the future, and The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity’s support helps to make this possible. I’m no longer defined by my illness - if you saw me in the street, you’d never even know I’m being treated for cancer.”
A lasting difference
Through Nationwide Fairer Futures, together we will accelerate breakthroughs in research, treatment and care for cancer patients. Working in partnership, we have the potential to make a significant and lasting difference to people with cancer in the UK and beyond, for generations to come.
Professor Nicholas Turner, Director of Clinical Research and Development at The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, said:
“At The Royal Marsden, we are clear on our mission to rapidly translate advances in science and technology into real benefits for cancer patients, and to continue to influence and change patient care on a global scale. With every discovery, our ambitions grow stronger.
“We are thrilled by the support from Nationwide to help us realise our ambitious plans in the coming years. From developing new therapies and surgical technologies, to finding new ways to minimise side effects and speed up recovery, there is a huge amount of potential across our research portfolio. Nationwide’s support will help us to deliver these advances for patients sooner.”
Enabling significant advances
In recent years, there have been significant advances in understanding cancer and how to treat it. Now, more than half of patients are surviving cancer for a decade or longer, benefitting from the latest research breakthroughs. Thanks to the efforts of researchers, we can offer hope to patients with advanced, and previously untreatable, cancers. However, too often the disease evolves, becoming more complex and harder to treat.
Nationwide’s support will help enable a wide range of clinical trials across different treatment types including radiotherapy, surgery, targeted therapies and immunotherapy.
“We are delighted to be partnering with Nationwide Building Society. Their incredible support of The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity over the next two years will help fund world-leading research at The Royal Marsden, benefiting cancer patients across the UK and around the world. While progress has been made in the understanding of cancer and how to treat it, more research is needed to develop more effective, personalised treatments. Nationwide's support will help to enable these breakthroughs, improving quality of life for people with cancer and giving them more time with their loved ones." Antonia Dalmahoy, Managing Director of The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity