A retailer is calling for clothing donations to help children with cancer during Childhood Cancer Awareness Month.
TK Maxx is asking people in the South East to drop off unwanted clothes and homeware for its Give Up Clothes For Good campaign in support of Cancer Research UK for children and young people.
According to Cancer Research UK, 1,900 children are diagnosed with cancer every year, although survival rates have more than doubled since the 1970s. Now, around eight in ten will survive for at least ten years.
Lynn Daly, Cancer Research UK spokeswoman for the South East, said: “Cancer is different in children and young people, from the types of cancer that affect this age group to the long-term effects of treatment, such as hearing loss and infertility.
“So it needs different and dedicated research which campaigns like Give Up Clothes For Good help to fund.
“Thanks to the generosity of our supporters, we are beating cancer. Step by step, day by day.
"More than nine in ten children and young people with cancer who receive cancer drugs on the NHS receive a drug linked to Cancer Research UK’s work.
“And our scientists are unlocking discoveries about these cancers and translating them into new and less toxic ways to treat them.
“But, despite huge progress, too many young lives are still lost to this devastating disease.
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“By donating any quality clothes or goods to their local TK Maxx store, people across the South East can help ensure more young people in the region - and across the UK – can live longer, better lives free from the fear of cancer.”
Cancer Research UK conducts ground-breaking research for cures and treatments. For example, Professor Chris Jones, a researcher at the Institute of Cancer Research, aims to find the genes that drive the development of hard-to-treat childhood brain tumours called gliomas.
Items can be donated to any store all year round, after which they are sent to Cancer Research and sold. The campaign is the longest-running clothes collection in the UK.
Since 2004, TK Maxx has raised £45 million for children and young people with cancer.
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