A LEADING cancer scientist and aerial performance artist from Glasgow is backing a campaign urging Scots to stand up to the disease.

Dr Sara Zanivan from the city’s Cancer Research UK Beatson Institute is calling on Scots to join the rebellion and support Stand Up To Cancer – a joint fundraising campaign from Cancer Research UK and Channel 4.

Channelling the defiant spirit of the campaign, brave scientist Sara stands up to her fear of heights by taking to the trapeze in her spare time.

While in the lab she is trying to find a way to turn cancer on its head – by stopping tumours from growing and spreading.

A love of sports from a young age and the opportunity to confront her fear of heights head-on inspired Sara to join Glasgow-based aerial performance troupe Spinal Chord six years ago.

The busy scientist says the time she spends in the air helps her to recharge and refocus on her ground breaking work to beat cancer.

Sara said: “When I’m working on the trapeze or the hoop, or concentrating on doing drops on the silks, I’m so focused on my balance and remembering the movements that my head completely empties.

“It means I come back to the lab refreshed and ready to take on my research.

“And it’s such a good feeling afterwards, confronting my fear and pushing myself a little bit higher each time.”

Sara’s research is funded by Stand Up To Cancer, which raises money for game-changing research to get new, better, kinder tests and treatments to cancer patients, faster.

Together with her team at the Cancer Research UK Beatson Institute, she is studying the role of a type of cell called a fibroblast in breast cancer and ovarian cancer.

Glasgow Times:

Fibroblast cells have many functions, including producing the scaffolding for organs and tissues and helping to heal wounds. Sara and her team are looking at how these cells are manipulated in tumours, helping cancer cells to grow and multiply and acting as accomplices for their escape around the body.

Sara said: “We call these cancer conspirators ‘cancer associated fibroblasts’, or CAFs.

“We are trying to identify molecules that are essential for the function of CAFs. If we can develop drugs that can take these molecules down then our hope is we might be able to leave the cancer cells without their valuable allies.”

She continued: “We are looking at the role of CAFs in triple-negative breast cancer and ovarian cancer, which are two of the most difficult cancers to treat in women.

“We want to help find better treatments for these women by developing CAF-targeting drugs that can be used in combination with other cancer-killing drugs to stop tumours in their tracks.”

Glasgow Times:

Originally from Aosta in northwestern Italy, Sara says she is inspired by the cancer patients and survivors she has come into contact with through her work in Glasgow.

She said: “I’ve met people who can’t walk very well, who are visibly very ill, who have come to talk to me about the research I am doing.

“Despite everything they are going through, they are still smiling and that really gives me the motivation to work hard to find better treatments to help them.

“That’s why I’m calling on Scots to take a stand and do something to help raise money at work, school or at home. I’m urging the people of Glasgow to get started right now and sign up for a free fundraising pack which includes everything you need to spark creative ideas and help us beat cancer sooner.” 

Stand Up to Cancer takes developments in the lab and transforms them into brand new tests and treatments for cancer patients.

Since it was launched in the UK in 2012, the campaign has raised more than £38 million to fund over 40 clinical trials and research projects. 

This includes the development of the ‘chemo package’ to deliver treatment at the best time for the patient; testing arsenic as a weapon to make cancer implode and using viruses to seek and destroy cancer cells.

Victoria Steven, Cancer Research UK spokesperson for Scotland, said: “Every day, doctors, nurses, scientists and researchers work tirelessly to beat cancer. Stand Up To Cancer raises money to speed up breakthroughs from the lab to patients. 

“We’re on the brink of a revolution in cancer research - thanks to improvements in treatments and early diagnosis, more people are surviving than ever before. But we can’t afford to stand still. It’s time to rebel against cancer, raise money and save lives. Every pound raised for Stand Up to Cancer will help to support this progress and bring forward the day when all cancers are cured.

Victoria continued: There are lots of fun ways to join the rebellion against cancer.  You can get creative in the kitchen, get sponsored to stand out in orange at work or school, do a sponsored wax or head shave or get sponsored to take part in ‘Game On’, Stand Up To Cancer’s gaming marathon. A free fundraising pack is available, full of fun and creative ways to conjure up cash.” 

For more information and to get involved visit www.standuptocancer.org.uk