GHP October 2016

ghp October 2016 | 21 Health & Social Care The World’s Leading Authority on Cancer Prevention Research How would you define your client base? It is by funding some of the world’s most renowned scientific researchers in the field of cancer prevention and survival that we are now able to better understand how certain lifestyle choices affect our cancer risk. We also work closely with important decision-makers across the globe to ensure that governments are aware of what action needs to be taken to tackle obe- sity and improve nutrition. Health professionals have an important role in helping people live healthier lives, and we equip them with the right tools and training to help their patients to do this. We also work with the general public to provide evidence-based information and tips on how to reduce their cancer risk. What makes your firm unique? We were the first cancer charity to show the link between diet and cancer prevention, which is now widely accepted in the scientific community. Being the first charity to fund research in this area has made us pioneers in this field, which would otherwise have been largely unknown. Our Continuous Update Project is our biggest venture, which is the world’s most comprehensive analysis of research on the links between diet, weight, physical activity and cancer. We use these findings to create practical, scientifically-proven recommendations on cancer prevention for use by individuals, health professionals, and governments worldwide. What are the major challenges facing your business at present? With so many conflicting headlines about what may or may not affect cancer risk, it can be difficult for indi- viduals to recognise the importance of our recommen- dations. The more we get the message across that our recommendations are based on solid evidence, the more we hope people will understand and take on our advice. Getting governments to take action on issues such as the obesity epidemic or excess alcohol consumption is also a challenge, but one we need to keep working at, as both obesity and alcohol increase the risk of several cancers. Looking ahead, what is the main objective for your business? As we look forward to our next 25 years, our scientific research ensures that we will continue to have the latest and most authoritative information at our fingertips, all underpinned by independent expert advice. This will allow our vision for no one to develop a preventable cancer to become a reality sooner. What business or business person do you most admire and why? We often work together with Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution, which is helping children across the world have access to healthy food and receive nutrition education. Jamie’s work and that of his foundation has been instrumental in helping to raise awareness on the importance of tackling childhood obesity and influencing policy to help make this happen. Name: Rachael Gormley Company: World Cancer Research Fund Email: [email protected] Web Address: www.wcrf.org Address: 22 Bedford Square, London, WC1B 3HH Telephone: +44 (0) 207 343 4200 World Cancer Research Fund is proud to be the world’s leading authority on cancer prevention research related to diet, weight and physical activity. Indeed, they have developed a global reach in the UK, the USA the Netherlands and Hong Kong. For the last few decades, they have been a pioneer in research and health information on the link between food, nutrition, physi- cal activity and the prevention of cancer. In an interview, Rachael Gormley elaborates on World Cancer Research Fund’s vision to live in a world where no one develops a preventable cancer.