This month has been a pretty slow month in terms of my blogging and attending events. Being in the third trimester has really had a huge impact on my days out in London as there are limits to how much I can and can’t do now. However, spending the day wisely with F+F and CRUK was 100% going to happen no matter what. F+F are the clothing brand at Tesco, and they have been working with Cancer Research UK in a variety of ways. This time, they kindly sent me plus three other bloggers for a day out and tour of one of the research facilities in London. First stop, brunch!
We met up with everyone at a lovely spot near Shepherds Bush called Mustard. It was so lovely to sit and chat with other bloggers as well as Karen who told us more about the partnership between Tesco F+F and CRUK. The 16-year partnership has now raised £40 million can you believe! This includes just under a million by having Tesco customers donate their unwanted clothes to local stores.
Over a coffee and dessert, I learnt about the Buy One, Donate One scheme, where an entire school uniform gets donated just by purchasing an item from the range.
So after a lovely brunch, we were on our way to the Imperial College for a tour of their CRUK centre.
We were given lab coats which made me feel right back to those school days in chemistry class. I always loved learning, so sitting down to listen to the vital research taking place was such a treat. The centre focuses on treatment innovation and the Imperial Research Centre is one of 18 experimental medical centres in the U.K.
Some quick but essential facts from the tour and talk:
- 42% of cancers are preventable (mainly from lifestyle, environmental choices)
- The average person takes 180 days from spotting the first symptom to visiting their GP- this is far too long!
- In 1970, 1 in 4 people developed cancer
In the next 20 years, this number will be 3 in 4 people - It takes a huge amount of time to create cancer fighting drugs, but a very short amount of time for cancer to work out a way to beat the drug. Early diagnosis is the key!
We took a tour with a researcher called Catriona. Her specialised area was understanding the link between type 2 diabetes and drug called metformin. She is hoping to find out why people taking this drug have a decreased chance of developing certain types of cancer. Each experiment is vital, yet we learned incredibly expensive to carry out!
Having lost my mother in law to cancer last year, just a few weeks after our wedding, I am fully on board with supporting all types of research that not only this facility carries out, but across the country nationwide. Statistics show that we all know someone or have lost someone ourselves to cancer, so I encourage you to do whatever you can to support.
I visited one of my local CRUK charity shops and donated a bunch of clothes which were just in my drawers and wardrobes not seeing any wear or love in years.
I want to thank the team behind the Imperial Research Centre and to Karen representing the F+F brand for inviting me along. Spending the day wisely with F+F and CRUK was a wonderfully insightful experience. I also want to thank you guys for reading this, and hope that today you appreciate everybody around you that little bit more who are happy, healthy and by your side.
Saharasplash x
See what I got in the Aldi Baby and Toddler Event this month!
