Broadcaster Mark Radcliffe pays tribute to cancer research after recovery

BBC broadcaster Mark Radcliffe is supporting fundraising for a cancer research facility following his recovery

BBC broadcaster Mark Radcliffe marked his cancer recovery by unveiling his own engraved park bench with a difference.

The bench in the grounds of the University of Manchester bears the inscription: ‘Mark Radcliffe loved sitting here... and still does thanks to advances in cancer research.’

Mr Radcliffe was diagnosed with cancer in 2018 and had a tumour removed from his tongue.

• RELATED: Campaign to promote research as a career sparks nursing students’ interest

The cancer also spread to lymph nodes in his neck, but following successful treatment at The Christie hospital in Manchester he returned to the airwaves in February.

The BBC Radio 2 and 6 Music presenter has also helped launch the Re-Write Cancer campaign, a £20 million joint fundraising appeal by Cancer Research UK, The Christie Charitable Fund and The University of Manchester.

• RELATED: Stand Up To Cancer campaign uses photos of real people to portray ‘raw reality’

It aims to help meet the cost of a new £150 million cancer research facility in Manchester to bring together the largest concentration of nurses, doctors and scientists in Europe to work on research and clinical trials of new treatments.

Mr Radcliffe said: ‘I loved my years studying at the University of Manchester, so it’s the perfect site for the bench.

‘Facing a cancer diagnosis was extremely tough – it completely turned my life upside down and made me re-evaluate what really matters to me. But thousands of people are in the same boat every year and I was fortunate to receive excellent care at The Christie.’

In other news

• Thousands queue for free prostate cancer check
• Ethnic minority women too shy to talk to GP about cancer