Cumbrian mum urges game-changing support for cancer research

A Cumbrian mum who was diagnosed with cervical cancer after a routine smear test is supporting a Cancer Research UK campaign to fund further life-saving advances.
Sarah Farr, from Barrow, was trying for a second child when abnormal cells were detected during her cervical screening. Further tests confirmed she had cervical cancer, a diagnosis she received the day before her husband’s 40th birthday and when their daughter Maisie was just six.
Sarah, who was 33 at the time and working as a health visitor, underwent a radical trachelectomy, a procedure that removes part of the cervix and uterus in an attempt to preserve fertility. She spent three months off work recovering. She and her husband Eugene explained to Maisie that she had a poorly tummy and needed an operation.
Although doctors warned that conceiving again might take time and that she may need fertility treatment, Sarah later became pregnant naturally with their second daughter, Tillie. Maisie, now 15, has received the HPV vaccine at school and six-year-old Tillie will be vaccinated when she is old enough.
Sarah credits Cancer Research UK with helping to change the outlook for women like her. Its work helped prove the importance of cervical screening, which now prevents thousands of deaths each year, and its research led to the HPV vaccine, expected to prevent up to 90 percent of cervical cancer cases in the UK.
With cancer cases rising as the population ages, Sarah is urging people in Cumbria to consider donating monthly to support the charity’s research. Latest figures suggest around 865,000 new cancer cases will be diagnosed in the North West over the next 15 years. By 2040, one person in the UK is expected to be diagnosed every two minutes, compared with every four minutes in the 1970s.
Sarah, now 42, said: “The statistics say it all and that’s why we must act now. To save lives tomorrow, Cancer Research UK needs our support today. My cancer was found at an early stage through screening so treatment was relatively straightforward, but it was still a tremendous shock to be told I had cancer when I was so young.
“My husband and I were shattered by the news, but we immediately focused on coping with what was ahead. When it came to Maisie’s HPV jab, she completely understood why it mattered. I’m a huge advocate for the vaccine as it could save so many lives in the future.
“Cancer Research UK has given hope to thousands of families like ours. Advances like this only happen because of vital funding, so I hope people will give what they can.”
Donations can be made at cruk.org/breakthroughs