A Bold Statement, But Does it Read True?

Today I was visiting a local fund raising event held by the Round Table. There were various charity stalls raising money for their individual causes.

It is difficult right now for people to know what and whom to support and very often some small and very good charities get overlooked by the bigger guys who have more money to spend to attract more money. All part of the irony of these big charities, they become big employees and businesses in themselves so that a good sum of the money raised has to go to keeping the charity viable enough to raise funds - it's not just about money in one door and straight out to the cause that it is being given to, but we often forget that.

It is important too that we are given the correct information on what the charities are doing with that money and what is being achieved.

So I was slightly alarmed to see one of the UK's biggest charities for one of the most emotive health areas using a bold advert that perhaps isn't giving the complete picture.

The stall that was manned by i'm sure a very well meaning group of volunteers for Cancer Research UK, had a very large 'pull up' banner that read

Preventing, Controlling and Curing All Cancers

This is quite a statement to make and given that one never knows if something has been prevented, that is a difficult claim to make.  Controlling, well there is some measure there in an individual, but as for the last claim of curing all cancers.....that is mighty big statement and one might think quite misleading.

If they are curing all cancers, then right now we shouldn't be seeing anyone dying from any cancer and clearly that is not true!

Many of these large cancer based organisations would come down hard on anyone claiming a cure for cancer, as the 1939 cancer act doesn't allow for anyone other than medical practitioners, nurses, pharmacists or members of parliament to speak of the disease in that way.

So for this charity to say it is curing cancer, has the potential for the public, who are desperate to see an end to this cruel illness, to think that it has the answer, the cure, for their relative, friend, self etc and put money their way under that illusion.

To make such a claim, you have to be showing figures that are conclusive with no provisos.
This is a painfully difficult disease to treat with a generic method, as cancers are as individual as the individual, especially in the trigger for their development.

Having recently lost a sister to cancer, I know full well they are not curing all cancers and yet money pours into them by the millions.

To say they are still looking for the cure would be more accurate, but we have heard that story year in and year out, we are always 'just around the corner' from the cure...well its a mighty long corner and I guess at the end of it, we will know that only a totally individual rethink to life, nutrition, stress relief and a more imaginative approach to treatment will indeed lead to better health and improved recovery rates.

But as yet a cure to all cancers is not exactly the truth.