Family and friends raise over 20k for cancer research

A caring group of family and friends took part in an abseil, organised by cancer patient Anne Parnell who sadly died before the event took place, to raise money for cancer research in Birmingham.

The abseil was held at the Spinnaker Tower in Southampton, Anne’s hometown, and raised over a whopping £20,000.

The huge donation has been gifted to the Cancer Immunology Immunotherapy Centre (CIIC) at QEHB Charity, which funds research into using the body’s own immune system to fight cancer.

Ben Willcox, Professor of Molecular Immunology at the School of Cancer Sciences and Director of CIIC, said: “Cancer kills over 14 million people worldwide each year.
“Research undertaken at CIIC, which is funded by generous donations like these to QEHB Charity, means we can look at harnessing the immune system to fight cancer.
“Some of the strategies we are focusing on include ‘engineering’ immune cells to attack cancer cells better, and ‘arming’ antibodies to make them generate stronger immune responses against the tumour.”

Katie Parnell, Anne’s daughter, said: “We are so delighted to be able to donate such a wonderful amount to QEHB Charity in memory of our loving, funny and caring mum.
“We miss her dearly but we are really pleased we could carry out the abseil, which was all her idea, in her memory.”

Justine Davy, Head of Fundraising at QEHB Charity, added: “I’d like to say a huge thank you to everyone involved in raising such a fantastic amount for QEHB Charity’s CIIC fund. It was a pleasure meeting Anne’s family and friends, and such a touching way to remember her. From everyone at QEHB Charity I’d like to say well done, thank you, and well done again!”

To find out more information about CIIC or to make a donation, please click here.