Be inspired by heartbreaking stories, funny stories, hopeful stories – amazing stories.
A little while ago, I started to ask supporters to share their personal cancer stories with me.
I could never have known what would happen next.
Stories started to pour through my office door. Each day another mail sack, each story a tale of how cancer has affected people's lives, their loved ones and generation after generation. 'My story is like many others - very sad’ one lady writes. 'I look at my Grandchildren and wonder what is in store for them’, writes another. I received over 400 in total and I don't mind telling you that I cried many tears over them.
Together, they are a powerful documentation about cancer in our time and the need to free the world of this devastating disease as soon as possible. The stories were so powerful that I thought they should go in a book for everyone to read, 'Hot baths, long walks and chamomile tea.' My hope is that somebody will read it in years to come and say 'I can’t imagine what it was Iike before there was a cure for cancer.'
As an AICR supporter, I know you may be interested to read this book, so I'd like to offer you the chance to download it here. When you read them you'll see why each has been chosen to inspire people to support research into cancer.
Will you be inspired to remember AICR in your Will?
I hope that in turn these stories will inspire you too. As a loyal supporter of AICR, you are already doing so much to fund research into cancer, which is helping us to make vital new breakthroughs. However, there is something else you may wish to consider which could significantly contribute towards helping the next generation conquer cancer, And that is remembering AICR in your Will.
Making a bequest to charity of any size in your Will is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make a really big difference to a cause you believe in. For people like you and me who help to fund research into cancer, it's a way to ensure that this work, that we're so passionate about, continues years and decades into the future.
As a charity that relies entirely on voluntary donations, the income generated by gifts in Wills is vitally important to us. Last year, thanks entirely to those who remembered us in their Wills, we were able to fund eight three year projects, at an average cost of £150k each, which wouldn't otherwise have been possible.
When selecting projects, AICR has no geographical restrictions and does not give any area of research greater priority. This leaves us entirely free to fund what we consider to be the very best science. As a result, every project gives us essential information about hew cancer starts and develops which leads to better diagnosis and treatments.
What a single legacy can achieve is truly inspirational.
Leading cancer experts agree that the next few years hold enormous potential. There could be vaccines to prevent people getting certain cancers, improved screening to find cancers earlier and new drugs to slow down or even stop the development of cancer. By remembering AICR in your Will, you could help to fund a project that leads to such a discovery.
Many people think that gifts in Wills are huge sums of money but this isn't the case. Gifts left to AICR range from £50 to £50,000 and they all help us make big progress. Another misconception is that you can't look after your family in your Will and leave a gift to charity, but there are so many options. As one of AlCR's legacy officers, I'd be happy to send you some information through the post, speak to you on the phone or drop in for a personal visit where possible.
Please download this form to let us know your intentions. You'll see there is a section where you can let us knew if you have already left a gift to AICR in your Will and a section where you can tell us if you have already decided not to. We respect your decision, of course, and let me reassure you that all your support, however it is given, brings us closer to the day when there is a cure for cancer.
I hope that you will enjoy your book "Hot baths, long walks and chamomile tea" and that you find the stories in it truly inspirational. To me, there is no greater inspiration than these stories for continuing our work and making sure that, one day, every cancer story has a happy ending.
Geraldine Long
Donor Development Manager
