TALAN’S Trust is delighted to announce that it has made a further £20,000 donation to the team at The Institute of Cancer Research (ICR).

Bude boy, Talan, died in 2017 from rhabdomyosarcoma, a type of cancer that affects children and young people.

Talan’s Trust has been supporting the rhabdomyosarcoma research undertaken by the ICR’s Professor Janet Shipley for a number of years. This recent gift takes the Trust’s total support of the ICR to date to an incredible £100,000.

Talan’s mother and Trust founder Sarah Penny said: “We could not have hit this phenomenal milestone without the tireless efforts of our supporters.”

Professor Shipley is one of the world’s leading experts on the biology of sarcomas. She and her team are studying the molecular profiles and underlying biology that drive sarcoma growth. 

The generous support of Talan’s Trust was acknowledged in an exciting research paper published this year. It detailed the largest and most comprehensive study of rhabdomyosarcoma to date. Professor Shipley was leader of the study, which found that specific genetic changes in tumours are linked to aggressiveness, early age of onset and location in the body. All these factors affect the chances that children will survive their disease — and understanding how they are driven by a cancer’s genetics could lead to new ways of tailoring treatment for each patient. 

Professor Shipley said: “Our findings should refine the current system and treatments clinicians provide to more effectively match each child’s genetic profile and risk. Ultimately, further research may highlight new drugs to tailor treatment for patients with high-risk rhabdomyosarcomas that have specific genetic defects.”

Talan’s Trust’s recent £20,000 donation will help Professor Shipley and her team to keep pushing forward in their research. Thank you all for making this progress possible. 

Nicola Shaw, the ICR’s Trust fundraising manager, said: “The continued and generous support of Sarah and everyone at Talan’s Trust means a great deal to us here at the ICR. To be a part of Talan’s legacy is an honour. We look forward to keeping everyone updated on how you are helping us to further improve the outlook for patients with rhabdomyosarcoma.”