Stowmarket teaching assistant Jake Andrade backs Leukaemia UK manifesto

A teaching assistant who spent his teens battling cancer is calling on political party leaders to improve the lives of those diagnosed with leukaemia.

Jake Andrade, 21, from Combs in Stowmarket, was first diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukaemia (AML) when he was 13 and after a five year remission period, his cancer returned at the age of 19.

After beating cancer for the second time, he went on to publish his book ‘My Leukaemia Fight’ which follows Jake’s journey through blood tests, bone marrow transplants and spending his teens in hospital care.

Jake, who used to work at the Glasswells café in Bury St Edmunds, is supporting a manifesto launched by Leukaemia UK which wants the next government to publish a Cancer Strategy in its first year.

This strategy identifies four priorities to help those affected by the blood cancer including more research, earlier diagnosis, improved access to treatments and better health data on leukaemia.

Jake said: “If I relapse again, there are no more treatments they can give me.

“People like me, who can't handle any more intensive therapy, need new, less harmful, more effective treatments.

“They could well save and improve the lives of many people.”

According to the charity, 27 people are diagnosed with leukaemia every day and is the most common cancer among children, making up almost a third of childhood cancers.

Fiona Hazell, chief executive of Leukaemia UK, said: “Leukaemia has been neglected by successive governments and as a result survival rates remain low.

“Acute myeloid leukaemia (AML), for example, has a five-year survival rate of around 14%, compared to an average of 55% across all cancers in England.

“As Jake ’s experience shows, while organisations like Leukaemia UK are making a real impact in accelerating progress through research, there is still much to be done to improve both survival rates and quality of life for those affected by leukaemia and to bring them more in line with other types of cancer.

“This year sees a once in a generation opportunity where we have the power to harness the life-changing power of research, data and technology to change the future for leukaemia patients.

“We must demand better to stop the devastation it causes to tens of thousands of families across the UK every year.”