Since we sadly lost our friend, ambassador and supporter Simon, his wife Amy and her amazing family and friends have been raising money for us in his name.
Last year they were our top fundraisers and they are heading that way again for 2025! They are certainly are doing him proud.
Just some of the great fundraising they have done has included Amy’s sister Helen who ran the London marathon !! Paul Burns £346.00 with a Sudoku challenge, The Forresters Arms who raised £460.00 with a fundraising weekend!
They continue to work really hard to raise funds to keep our holiday homes open as Simon loved his break down in Burnham with his wonderful family.
We are extremely pleased to announce that we have been chosen as the charity of the year 25/26 for the Black Country Housing group. They ask members of their team to nominate charities close to their hearts and we were thankfully nominated by our good friend Lucy. Thankfully they all agreed we were just what they were looking for as we helped and supported many local families whilst they were being treated.
The Black Country Housing Group are a local housing association that provides affordable housing and work closely with the local communities in Birmingham and the Black Country. More details of their great work can be found here
We cant thank them enough for choosing us and we are truly honoured
Our Balls to Cancer FC mens team start the 24/25 season with a brilliant new sponsor, Consort Architectural Hardware are an innovator in the world of Architectural Ironmongery.
Here’s more about this great company….
Founded in 1970, Consort Architectural Hardware has established itself as a leader in providing highly engineered, quality hardware that meets the most stringent industry standards. What began as a modest ironmongery business in a small Birmingham warehouse has grown into a global brand, operating across four continents.Consort’s products are now integral to iconic buildings and projects worldwide, known for their exceptional functionality and design. The company’s passion for innovation is evident in its continuous development of new, bespoke products, ambitious sustainability initiatives, and attainment of safety certifications.Consort offers one of the most comprehensive and certified ranges on the market, encompassing both European and American standards. Their team of qualified professionals ensures that each product meets precise project requirements, providing unparalleled support and technical guidance.Despite its expansion, Consort remains family-owned and operated, maintaining a small-business ethos that values every customer and emphasises the integrity of each product. Their hardware and fittings are designed for long-term performance, reducing waste and protecting both investments and the environment.
Please find and follow these guys on all their socials and checkout their website
With a great thank you to the guys at The Seven Stars public house in Sedgley, we are able to celebrate the Bank Holiday Weekend with a Cider festival at their beautiful pub.
The event starts at 12pm and continues until 4pm with great cider, great food and music from ambassadors and local DJ Scott Lyons and producer Dave and live music from The brilliant W!red
So get yourself down there and join in the fun and help us raise money to help families with cancer
Experts have called for “urgent” research into why cancer cases are rising in younger people.Cancer incidence rates among those aged under 50 have jumped by 24% between the early 1990s and 2019, according to new analysis by Cancer Research.
Increased exposure to known as well as unknown cancer risk factors, changes to lifestyles and diets over time, and rising obesity may all contribute to the uptick in early-onset cancer,” Professor Swanton said.”Around four in 10 cancer cases are preventable, and there are steps people can take to help reduce their cancer risk.
According to the analysis, the number of cancer cases on average in people aged 25 to 49 is expected to rise to more than 34,000 a year by 2040, up from the 32,659 estimated between 2023 and 2025.”We urgently need more research to unlock the answers and understand why cancer cases are rising in younger people not only in the UK, but globally too,” Professor Swanton said.
An NHS.uk webpage offering advice on the possible signs and symptoms of cancer has seen a jump of over 50% in the number of visits since news broke of the King’s recent diagnosis.
Latest figures from NHS England reveal that, in the 24 hours following the Buckingham Palace announcement, visits to the page on cancer signs and symptoms rose to 14,668 compared to a daily average of 9,737 last week (29 – 30 January) – an increase of 51%.
Visitor numbers peaked in the hour following the initial statement, with 1,530 visits being made to the page – an average of one visit every three seconds.
The NHS.uk cancer pages include information on lifestyle changes people can make to reduce their chances of getting cancer, as well advice on spotting early signs and symptoms of the disease and treatment options.
NHS England’s National Clinical Director for Cancer, Professor Peter Johnson said: “Talking about cancer helps save lives, and having more people looking at advice like this on how to spot the possible signs and symptoms of cancer is really important.
“One in two of us will develop some form of cancer in our lifetime – but thanks to continued progress, more cancers are now being diagnosed at an early stage than ever before and survival rates are at an all-time high.
“Detecting cancer early gives people the best chance of successful treatment, so I would encourage anyone to visit their GP if they have worrying symptoms, and to take up screening appointments when they receive them.”
Changes to your body’s normal processes or unusual, unexplained symptoms can sometimes be an early sign of cancer. Symptoms that need to be checked by a doctor include a lump that suddenly appears on your body, unexplained bleeding and changes to your bowel habits.
In many cases symptoms will not be related to cancer and will be caused by other, non-cancerous health conditions, but finding cancer early means it’s easier to treat.
The NHS is seeing and treating record numbers of people for cancer with almost 3 million people receiving potentially lifesaving cancer checks in the last year alone.
Making some simple changes to your lifestyle, such as healthy eating, taking regular exercise and not smoking, can also significantly reduce your risk of developing cancer.
The NHS.uk website is the UK’s biggest health website and receives an average of two million visits each day from people seeking information and advice. It includes over 4,000 pages and provides information about 990 medical conditions.
The NHS is offering routine preventative bowel cancer screening to thousands of people in England with a genetic condition that increases their chance of developing certain cancers.This is a world-first move by the health service to help reduce cases and identify bowel cancers earlier when successful treatment and cure is more likely.As part of the NHS Bowel Cancer Screening Programme, people with Lynch syndrome are now invited for bowel surveillance every two years, where they are seen by a specialist team and assessed for a colonoscopy which checks for polyps and signs of bowel cancer.Lynch syndrome is an inherited condition that increases the risk of certain cancers, including bowel, ovarian and pancreatic, but out of 100 people with Lynch syndrome, screening prevents between 40 and 60 people from getting bowel cancer.Around 10,000 people in England are on the Lynch syndrome register and are being invited to join Lynch surveillance as part of the NHS bowel cancer screening programme, and with many more unknowingly living with the disease, thousands of extra cancers will potentially be diagnosed and treated earlier.The routine colonoscopies will be offered at local bowel cancer screening centres, close to peoples’ homes making it more convenient for people to get tested.The health service also has a dedicated genetic testing programme for the condition and now almost all people diagnosed with bowel and endometrial cancer receive the initial test to check for Lynch syndrome – 94% on average between 2021-2023 which is up from 47% in 2019.A diagnosis for Lynch syndrome not only helps guide more personalised cancer treatment but enables their families and relatives to be offered testing too.Around 1,100 bowel cancers are caused by Lynch syndrome each year in England – and it is thought the syndrome increases the lifetime risk of developing bowel cancer up to around 80%.Steve Russell, national director of screening and vaccinations for the NHS, said: “Our successful bowel cancer screening programme already helps identify thousands of cancers each year, and now thousands more people who have been diagnosed with Lynch syndrome will also be given regular colonoscopies to check for signs of cancer and to detect the disease earlier.“Ensuring people who we know are at a greater risk of developing cancers get regular screening is key to diagnosing cancers at an earlier stage, and I’d encourage everyone invited to come forward and get their screening at a local centre near them.”Dr Robert Logan, NHS England’s national speciality adviser for endoscopy and bowel screening, said: “This is great news for patients with Lynch syndrome – not only has genetic testing for the condition increased massively in less than five years, but we are also ensuring that patients diagnosed with Lynch syndrome are then guaranteed to get the high quality surveillance colonoscopy they need from the national screening programme. This is the first time any country has been able to deliver such a comprehensive joined up approach to diagnosis and early intervention for one of the most common hereditable cancer syndromes.”Genevieve Edwards, Chief Executive at Bowel Cancer UK, says: “With the Bowel Cancer Screening Programme managing Lynch syndrome surveillance we expect to see a vast improvement in the experience and outcomes for people with the condition.“Those who have been diagnosed with Lynch syndrome will now have regular access to high-quality colonoscopy tests regardless of where they live in England.“As the first country in the world to implement a programme like this we are leading the way in improving the care of people with Lynch syndrome and ultimately saving lives.”It is estimated that 1 in 400 people in England have Lynch syndrome (equivalent to around 175,000 people), but just 5% are aware they are living with the condition.People with Lynch syndrome are more likely to develop multiple cancers and be diagnosed at a younger age. For example, bowel cancer is most common in those aged over 50 but in someone younger, it may be a sign of Lynch syndrome.The NHS is now able to identify the condition through a simple blood test, which then goes through a regional genomic laboratory hub, is sequenced, and then sent back to the referring clinician.Relatives who receive a diagnosis of Lynch syndrome can be referred to genetic services to discuss regular testing options to help catch any cancers as early as possible, as well as to consider preventive options such as taking aspirin or undergoing risk-reducing surgery.While the syndrome does not directly cause cancer, the genetic changes can lead to more abnormal cells developing, which then multiply and increase the risk of developing cancers, such as bowel, prostate and endometrial, among others.Nicola Theis from Cheltenham is a university lecturer and was diagnosed with Lynch syndrome following her dad’s diagnosis with the hereditary condition.She is now receiving regular preventative screening from NHS bowel cancer screening services and as a mum of two young children, she explains why this is so important.“It all started when my dad was diagnosed with advanced bowel cancer in 2019 and only given months to live, which you can imagine was devastating for our family.“I’d researched the importance of genetics in finding the most appropriate treatment options and after his results confirmed his cancer was linked to Lynch syndrome, he began receiving immunotherapy and incredibly this treatment began to shrink his tumour.“Miraculously, he was cancer free in less than a year and his scans have been clear since. I’m so happy he’s still with us.“After that, I was tested and diagnosed with Lynch syndrome too. Being part of the screening programme gives me the confidence that any cancers that may develop can be caught earlier when they’re more treatable.“It’s great that thanks to the NHS’s Lynch syndrome screening programme, more people like me and my dad will be regularly checked for bowel and other cancers.“If you think you might have Lynch syndrome, I’d really encourage you to discuss it with your GP. It could save your life.”Professor Peter Johnson, clinical director for cancer at the NHS said: “Bowel cancer is now the most third common cancer in this country, with cases rising year on year, but it also tends to be one of the harder cancers to detect at an early stage because signs and symptoms usually appear later. This is why the NHS has rolled out a national bowel cancer screening programme to detect cancers earlier and ensure people can be treated sooner – which has now been expanded to include people with Lynch syndrome.“As well as people coming forward for regular screening when invited by the NHS, it’s also important to remain vigilant of any potential symptoms such as a persistent change in bowel habits, blood in the poo, and abdominal pain – if you do notice any of these changes, please do come forward for checks at your GP surgery – getting checked saves lives.”Health Minister, Andrew Stephenson said: “Identification and follow up of people at high risk of cancer is an important and ever-more feasible strand of our efforts to reduce deaths and illness from cancer.“Today’s announcement means that those with Lynch syndrome can be routinely screened for bowel cancer, helping to identify potential issues in a timely way as part of the NHS bowel cancer screening programme. This means that the NHS has a better chance of finding cancers at a time when they can be more easily and effectively treated.“The NHS has seen and treated record numbers of cancer patients over the past two years. As we drive forward our long term plan for the NHS we are seeing survival rates improve across almost all types of cancer, but we know we must go further to ensure that we catch cancer earlier and increase chances of survival.”Tracy Smith, Trustee at Lynch syndrome UK, said: “Introducing Lynch syndrome patients to the National Bowel Screening Programme ensures that high risk patients receive regular surveillance in a timely manner and potential cancers are more likely to be caught earlier, thus saving lives.”Dr Kevin Monahan, lead for the NHS England Lynch syndrome transformation project, said: “Incorporating people with Lynch syndrome into the national colonoscopy screening programme is game-changing and will save many lives each year. It will deliver prevention and early diagnosis of bowel cancer through timely and high-quality colonoscopy. Now diagnosis of this hereditary condition in England will be linked to lifelong patient-focused care.”
We are extremely pleased to announce that we have been picked as the Charity partner of this year’s Miss England finals.
The finals will take place at the beautiful Grand Station in Wolverhampton in May.
Miss England Final 16-17 May:
The Miss England Contest is the most respected beauty contest ‘Title’ in England. It is the ONLY competition in the Country to send its winner to represent England in the Miss World Contest.
The organiser Angie Beasley has been the director of Miss England since 2002 . In the 1990s , Angie organised Miss United Kingdom on behalf of Miss World . The competition is a registered patented title with the UK Patent office and owned by Miss World who in 2023 will be celebrating their 71st year .
(Photo of Angie Beasley above by Studio NI Photography.)
Angie was one of the judges for Miss England 2019 and help select NHS Doctor Bhasha Mukherjee to be the winner . In the 1990s Angie organised Miss United Kingdom on behalf of Miss World along with Miss Scotland and Miss Wales . In 2002 , Angie became the director of Miss England Limited , when Julia Morley spilt the 4 UK countries , so now 4 girls get the opportunity to go to Miss World with the highest scoring becoming Miss UK .
The competition is noted for emphasising the importance of charity work, now a major part of the competition. During the last few years, the Miss England competition alone has raised in excess of £1m for various children’s charities using the Miss World ‘Beauty with a Purpose’ ethos founded by Julia Morley. Beauty with a Purpose is now a charity that help disadvantaged children & young people across the World.
Miss England has been a regular supporter of Variety Children’s Charity, having raised over £450k at Miss England heats with ‘Miss England’ herself appearing at high profile events, organised by many charities.
Miss World is one of the world’s biggest TV shows, broadcast to over 120 countries and has been in existence since 1952. In England we can usually watch on London Live Channel E!, or on the Miss World website www.missworld.com The event hosts a top prize of $100,000 and every year attracts thousands of entrants in over 120 countries. Prolific winners of Miss World include Aishwarya Rai, Zhang Zilin and Priyanka Chopra who have all since then made themselves wholly successful in the filming and modelling industry. Oscar winners Halle Berry and Michelle Yeoh were also Miss World contestants in their earlier life! More well known Miss England celebrity winners include , Georgia Horsley ( now Georgia Jones married to Danny Jones from McFly) , Danielle Lloyd , Amy Jackson one of Bollywoods biggest stars who was third runner up in Miss England in 2010 , Laura Coleman , top model with Models one , and many contestants over the years have appeared on well known TV shows .
Amy Willerton who starred on “Im a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here ” also represented London in Miss England 2012 and later went on to win Miss Universe GB .
The Miss England contest is now organised differently compared to previous years since the pandemic .
A series of qualifying virtual heats will be held on the Miss England app on a monthly basis to find the semi finalists. There will also be wildcard opportunities for contestants promoted on social media where a contestant may win a place in the semi final by becoming a WILDCARD entry . The Miss England app is FREE to download from Google Play or the App store and voters receive one FREE daily vote for their favourite contestant . VOTE NOW for your favourite !
At the semi final the National finalists will be selected . The next semi final is being held at Viva Blackpool on 16th October 2023 to celebrate Jessica Gagens one year reign. Jessica will be representing England at the 71st Miss World , due to be held in India in December.
There will also be a number of direct to the final heats will also be held such as the first ever make up free LONDON heat , FAB UK Magazine will be holding a Top Model heat and other city winners will be invited from across the country to take part in the next final , which is now scheduled to be held in the Spring of 2024.
To enter the next Miss England please first enter by completing the form on the home page of our website and if accepted we will advise us of the next stage.
You can compete in more than one round to increase your chances.
The reigning Miss England is AEROSPACE ENGINEERING STUDENT Jessica Gagen who represented Lancashire in the 2022 final TWICE .
Click here to read an article about Jessica in the media when she became the winner of Miss England 2022 DAILY MAIL
The winner of Miss England each year joins Miss Scotland, Miss Wales & Miss Northern Ireland & almost 100 contestants from around the world to compete for the Miss World coverted crown with first prize of $100k.
We are very pleased to announce that the tickets are on sale NOW for our 2024 Charity Ball!
The ball will be back at the very beautiful Grand Station in Wolverhampton and will be on Friday 29th November.
We will have our usual amazing mix of wonderful food, great live entertainment and brilliant celebrity guests.
So if you would like to join us celebrating another year of helping, funding, supporting people with cancer, then get your tickets before the prices increase !
Tickets are available here or for a reduced table of ten ticket are available here
We are now planning for 2024 and need your help raising the vital funds we need to be able to open our free holiday homes next year.
Sadly again this year the costs have risen for the coming year and we need you and your friends to help us raise the funds to keep this vital break for people with cancer going through treatment.
For some this is their last holiday and we desperately need to make sure this is still available.
if you can help please donate here https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/free-holidays-for-families-with-cancer
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