Store and charity in £10m campaign

Sharon Quennell (front) with Tesco employees Bev Maher (back left) and Jackie Mayers

Sharon backs shopping list to beat cancer
CHADDERTON cancer survivor Sharon Quennell is helping to launch a groundbreaking £10 million charity collaboration between Cancer Research UK and Tesco.

The mother-of-one joined staff at Oldham’s Huddersfield Road Extra store to signal the start of the partnership in the borough.

She came forward to highlight the importance of early diagnosis in a scheme which will see Tesco fund 32 early diagnosis research projects across the UK.

The company has also pledged to launch a new in-store customer awareness campaign, which will see leaflets highlighting the early signs of cancer on display at store checkouts.

Sharon, who was successfully treated for breast cancer, backed an ambitious “shopping list” of goals for the two organisations, with helping to beat cancer firmly at the top.

She was diagnosed with cancer in 2000 at the age of 36 after noticing a lump on her left breast.

Her diagnosis came only two years after her mother, Audrey, was diagnosed and successfully treated for the disease.

Sharon, who is now 47, underwent surgery followed by 12 weeks of chemotherapy treatment, and has made a good recovery.

She said: “I’m so excited to be launching this partnership between Cancer Research UK and Tesco.

“I’m one of the lucky ones. I was aware of the symptoms of cancer so I went to see my GP and got help.

“All too often cancer is detected further down the line when effective treatment becomes more difficult.”

Sharon added: “By funding research into earlier diagnosis and raising awareness among their staff and customers, Tesco and Cancer Research UK will be helping more people like me have more time with their families.

“My advice to anyone is ‘listen to your body’ and if you are experiencing any unusual symptoms get them checked. We are all so busy these days it can be hard to find the time, but it is so important.”

The launch coincides with the publication of Cancer Research UK’s new report, called Delay Kills, which has been funded by Tesco.

It reveals shocking results for the North-West which show more than three-quarters of people who were asked to list possible warning signs and symptoms of cancer failed to mention either pain, coughing or problems with bowels or bladder.

Almost six in 10 people surveyed in the region also failed to list bleeding, and nearly half said they might delay getting symptoms checked out because they were worried what their doctor might find.

A third also said they might delay because they feared wasting the doctor’s time.

According to cancer doctors, overwhelming failure to recognise common cancer symptoms, resulting in late diagnosis of the disease, results in thousands of avoidable cancer deaths.