Ahead of our meeting with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Steve Barclay, on Thursday 12th January, please may I ask you to contact your MP to foster further support and awareness.  

You will find below a template for an email you may wish to copy and paste. Many of you have your own personal stories to tell, about young adults like Jess, which is of course relevant. 

If you are unsure who your MP is, you may find them here: 

https://members.parliament.uk/FindYourMP

"Dear (insert name of MP here)

I am writing to urge you to back a petition to ‘Improve the awareness and diagnosis of cancer in young adults’.

https://www.change.org/p/matt-hancock-improve-the-awareness-and-diagnosis-of-cancer-in-young-adults

This petition was created in memory of Jessica Brady who died on the 20th of December 2020. She was 27 years old. She had been ill for 6 months and despite presenting with red-flag symptoms she was simply prescribed numerous medications including countless courses of antibiotics and steroids, even without an examination. She was told for months she was suffering from Long Covid despite two negative coronavirus tests. She was finally diagnosed with cancer on the 26th of November, following a private referral. Her dependency upon oxygen from this date meant she did not leave the hospital or ever return home. It was discovered that Jess had stage 4 adenocarcinoma with an unknown primary. It had spread throughout her body, to her spine, liver, stomach, lungs, bones, and lymph nodes. This was obviously devastating for Jessica and her family, shattering their world.

The unimaginable journey the family have been on with Jess has led them to unravel some unsettling truths. According to Cancer Research UK adults aged 25-49 contribute around a tenth of all new cancer cases, with double the incidence in females than males. Currently, this age group are not prioritised although many cancers are aggressive and require immediate treatment. Despite being too young to be ignored they often are. They are the forgotten generations. Too old for their diagnosis to be truly shocking and too young to be deemed at serious risk. 

Heartbreakingly, Jess’ story is not an isolated case. Hundreds of people have come forward as a result of this petition, sharing their painfully similar experiences about their young family and friends. We must stop dismissing our future generations and extinguishing precious lives.

The message is simple: more recognition, funding, early diagnosis equals fewer lives lost.

Andrea and Simon Brady will meet with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Steve Barclay, for the second time, on Thursday 12th January. As well as focusing upon what the government are planning to do, both in the short and long term, to fulfil its vital target to diagnose 75% of cancers at the earliest stages 1 or 2 by 2028, compared to 54% today, they will discuss the proposal for Jess’s Law.  Jess’s Law calls for a case to be elevated for review after a patient contacts their GP surgery about a condition/symptom for the third time. The law suggests that the third point of contact is a minimal requirement for referral and states it should not be a tokenistic exercise but involve thorough investigative procedures. Another critical aspect of their discussion will be providing statutory, annual training for GPs to help diagnose cancer earlier in ALL patients.

Please contact Steve Barclay, offering your support for these calls for change and be the MP who makes a necessary and lasting impact for our future generations.

Yours sincerely

(Insert your name)”

Since my last update 5 days ago, a further 1100 people have signed this petition. Whether you have recently added your name or you have been supporting our campaign from the start, I would like to, once again, extend my sincere gratitude, to all of you, for calling for change and wishing to make a difference.