Cancer Research

Jim McNeill and the entire Ice Warrior team are using their exploits to raise awareness of the pioneering work carried out by Cancer Research UK, the world's leading independent cancer research organisation. And they have personal reasons for doing so. Like so many team members, Jim's own life has been touched by cancer. He has lost loved ones to the disease and, most recently, his father-in-law who died of lung cancer in 2003. Cancer Research UK relies almost entirely on donations from the public to help it's 3,000 scientists, doctors and nurses throughout the UK in their mission to cure cancer faster. The charity spent £217 million last year on research into all aspects of cancer, ranging from understanding the causes and biology of the disease through to developing new ways to prevent, diagnose and treat cancer. It is also investigating ways to improve the quality of life of cancer patients and support their families.

Although there is a long way to go, huge advances are being made in the field of cancer research. More than 80 per cent of children diagnosed with the most common form of childhood leukaemia now survive. In the 1960s, this disease was almost always fatal.

The five-year survival rate for breast cancer has improved by 25% since the 1970s. Thanks to earlier detection and improved treatment, there has been a 20% drop in the death rate for bowel disease over the last 10 years. And the death rate for testicular cancer has fallen by nearly 60% over the last 20 years.

Together with over one million supporters across the UK - including Jim and the Ice Warrior team - Cancer Research UK is helping more families stay together for longer.

Cancer Research UK supporter and broadcaster, Lord Robert Winston, says, 'What Jim McNeill is doing is pioneering of the most advanced kind, just as Cancer Research UK is genuinely pioneering new ways to treat cancer. What Jim is planning pushes man beyond the boundaries and will take him to the most inaccessible places on Earth.'

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