A charity Christmas walk has been held in memory of a teenager who died of cancer.

Chris Lucas of Lancaster Drive, Hadrian Park, Wallsend, died in July 2000, aged 18, after contracting the cancer Rhabdomyosarcoma.

Shortly after his death mum Lynn, 47, helped found the Chris Lucas Trust to raise money for other people suffering from the disease.

Last night she and her husband, also called Lynn, 48, were joined by 500 supporters in singing Jingle Bells as they walked from Newcastle Civic Centre to the Newcastle Quayside to raise funds for the charity. She said: "If we can save just one child's life, then Chris' death will not have been for nothing."

To help go to www.chrislucastrust.com

Alan Tuddenham, cyclist fanatic,  one of our organisers, is  is calling all cyclist's to help him with his 24 hour Cyclethon! Children's cancer month is December, we need your help for our 1st 24 hour Cyclethon.

If you could spare a hour or so on Friday 16th, 7PM through to Saturday 7PM, we need to hear from you! Please call Alan on 0191 2131253, or Lynn on 0191 2632884 to register your name.

The venue is ASDA superstore, part of WALLMART group),  Longbenton, Newcastle upon Tyne.

Alan recently did a 12 hour one man Cyclethon, at ASDA, and raised just over £1300.

Cancer cases in North East youngsters have risen by a quarter since the 1960s.

Researchers at the University of Newcastle have found young men are 20% more likely to be diagnosed with the disease than young women.

Young males were also found to respond less well to treatment than young females.

But despite the increases in cancer rates, youngsters were more likely to survive, the study showed.

Cases of testicular and skin cancer doubled over the 30-year period covered by the study, which could be due to changes in environment and lifestyle.

Young women in particular were more likely to get malignant melanomas and lead researcher Dr Mark Pearce said the increased use of sunbeds could be a factor.

Dr Pearce, of Newcastle University's School of Clinical Medical Sciences, said: "The rapid rise in cases of testicular cancer for instance suggests changes in environmental exposures or lifestyle may play a role.

"But without hard scientific evidence it is impossible to say for sure.

"You can, however, draw a link between the rise in the cases of skin cancer and the increase in the growing tendency to take holidays in hot, sunny countries over the last 30 or so years and also the increased use of sunbeds, particularly by women.

"Both these practices expose the skin to dangerous ultra violet rays that can lead to the development of skin cancer."

He added: "The increasing incidence of some cancers is worrying, but there is good news in that today's adolescents and young adults are almost twice as likely to survive their disease than in the 1960s."

Co-researcher Dr Kevin Windebank is a consultant working on a teenage cancer unit at the Royal Victoria Infirmary, Newcastle, which was set up with funds from the Teenage Cancer Trust.

He said: "Thanks to specialist units like the one here in Newcastle, teenagers are getting a much better deal than before and survival rates are set to improve even further.

"However, in the meantime it remains important to get the message about avoidable risk factors such as smoking and excessive sun exposure clearly across to youngsters."

The statistics and reports are published today for the first time in the academic journal Paediatric Blood and Cancer.

Researchers examined data on cancer in adolescents and young adults aged 15 to 24 and found incidence of the disease rose significantly.

Over the 30-year study period, there were on average 190 cases for every million men a year, and 157 for every million women a year.

The most common cancers in young adults were Hodgkin's Disease, carcinomas, central nervous system tumours, germ cell tumours and leukaemia.

Keep research going

Lynn Lucas, who lost her son Christopher to a rare cancer five years ago, welcomed today's report.

The 47-year-old, of Hadrian Park, Wallsend, said: "I don't think there's a family out there who hasn't been touched by cancer these days. We definitely need more research into it."

Christopher, was 15 when he was diagnosed with the rare Rhabdomyosarcoma and died in June 2000, aged 18.

Pint-sized James Dunn is Tyneside's answer to Lance Armstrong. The six-year-old is taking on a 52-mile bike ride to raise money for a North East cancer charity.

James, of Preston Grange, North Shields, is cycling from Seahouses in Northumberland down to Tynemouth with his father Andrew, 35.

The pair are collecting cash for the Chris Lucas Trust, set up in memory of the Wallsend teenager who died of a rare cancer five years ago.

James' mother Alison, 35, said: "He's always loved cycling. He stopped using stabilisers and started riding unaided when he was three.

"He and his dad go out a lot together most weekends. He's got all the gear and a helmet.

"James is pretty fit for his age. He's been picked to take part in advanced training with the Newcastle City Council Football Development Programme.

"He's been out training with his dad three or four times a week for this ride and they're hoping to do it in under six hours." James, who has a brother Jonathan, six months, and sister Josephine, 10, will be riding on a special attachment connected to his father's bike but will still have to pedal on his own.

The Preston Grange Primary School pupil said: "I like cycling because it keeps you fit and helps you get to sleep.

"I prefer going downhill than uphill and sometimes I go very fast."

Mr Dunn, a transport manager for an HGV firm in Blaydon, regularly cycles to and from work.

He has raised more than £6,000 on sponsored bike rides across the Sinai desert and on a forest trip in Thailand.

Mrs Dunn, a solicitor, said: "James has already collected £100, which isn't bad for a six-year-old and we're hoping to get a lot more over the next two weeks."

Mr Dunn said: "I was looking for a charity to raise money for with James and when I read the stories about Chris I was so moved we decided to collect sponsors for the trust."

Chris, of Hadrian Park, was diagnosed with the rare rhabdomyosarcoma when he was 15. He died in July 2000.

His parents, Lynn and Lynn, who also have a 19-year-son, David, set up the charity in Chris' name to raise money for a specialist rhabdomyosarcoma researcher.

Last month they reached their £160,000 target and a scientist has been appointed at a London hospital to research the cancer.

But they are continuing to raise funds to keep the researcher in the post and pay for his work.

If you want to sponsor James and Andrew send donations to: 53 Malvin Road, Preston Grange, North Shields NE29 9HH.

On behalf of the Chris Lucas Trust  we are delighted  to announce the appointment  of a  senior post doctoral scientist to work exclusively on Rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS), to be based at the Royal Marsden Hospital, London,  Institute of Cancer Research, Innovative Therapies for Children with Cancer (ITCC)

Kathy Pritchard-Jones, Professor of Childhood Cancer Biology & Honorary Consultant in Paediatric Oncology
Children's Dept, Royal Marsden Hospital & Institute of Cancer Research said "we have now appointed an excellent senior post doctoral researcher. He is Italian and will be starting with us in September. He has very good experience of molecular profiling of cancers and I am sure he will really help us push forward our ongoing work on rhabdomyosarcoma".

The institute was chosen as the  'rhabdomyosarcoma biology lab' for a new European consortium called Innovative Therapies for Children with Cancer (ITCC)
- of which Professor Herbie Newell, Newcastle University,  is also a member.

Professor Andy Pearson  is Chair, at this institute, focussing on clinical trials of new drugs and will certainly be linked with our vital work on rhabdomyosarcoma, and he is very supportive of this, so the Newcastle link with this centre will be even stronger.

We are leading in the area of testing existing new drugs for activity against rhabdomyosarcoma.

Our research group is also very interested in the underlying molecular abnormalities in RMS that might be important as targets for developing new drugs.

Dr Kathy Pritchard -Jones, and Dr Janet Shipley, who leads the molecular cytogenetics group, are planning several interacting projects on rhabdomyosarcoma, all of which aim to help identify new, effective drug targets and treatment for this dreadful disease..

The Chris Lucas Trust is funding the senior post-doctoral scientist for three years minimum, to work on the molecular characterision of rhabdomyosarcoma, using 'microarray' profiling which tests thousands of genes
simultaneously.

By looking at how these results predict response to treatment, we aim to highlight the important genes for choosing new drugs to test on RMS cell lines and in the clinic and  aim to identify new targets for developing new drugs.

Chris Lucas Trust says  "the costs of doing these types of experiments is expensive, as is the amount needed to keep a scientist working at the bench using modern molecular techniques. We desperately need vital donations to ensure the continuous work of our Senior Researcher".
The funding is over £210,000 for three years (about $368,000) It is so expensive but unfortunately these are the costs of modern molecular medicine".

“Seven year old Conor is busy raising money in memory of his dear friends daughter Samantha Lily, who tragically died from Rhabdomyosarcoma in 1985.

Conor is selling lemonade and cookies raising money for the Chris Lucas Trust to fund our vital cancer researech.

To date he has raised over $50 Conors target is $100 by  April 27th which is Samanthas birthday.

Conors mother Susan said 'I'll pass your hug to Conor.  He's a loving and good boy, and I am very proud of him.  He wanted to celebrate Samantha Lily's birthday and we thought this the best way'. 'It's so sad that after so much time there are still children suffering from this.  It very wonderful and touching that you can honor your son by using this Trust to help other children.  I'm so glad that your family offers a great way to help other children'.

On behalf of the Chris Lucas Trust we thank Conor and Susan so much for their support.

“Tony Blair states "Bringing up a family is a great joy”, yes, I agree to have 9 months paternity for the new mother.

 My problem is trying to understand why the government does not consider the bereaved mother?

 On the other side of the coin, when parents lose a child they are on rock bottom, suicidal, do expect a return to work as soon as possible in some cases weeks rather than months. If the latter is the case they suffer by going onto half pay to no pay thus are drastically struggling financially with day to day living costs, including bills, and of course funeral costs.

 One may argue that the employer should help including the occupational health doctor, but to my experience and many others the health doctor has no powers, since in reality the parents go onto half pay then to no pay in a shorter timescale than the new paternity of nine months since there is no legislation to help those bereaved

 Therefore, they are starved back to work, meaning they are not ready to return within the desired timescale envisaged by the employer.

Remembering the new parents do not need to face work for nine months in the new policy soon to be introduced.

 I know by my own experience and talking to many bereaved parents over the years including Compassionate Friends that employers have along way to go to understand how bereavement affects their staff. In particular the loss of a child.

 I recommend under equal opportunities that bereaved parents require even more help as to parents to newborn what do you think? I know “governments cannot raise children but they should and can help parents when needed”

 What about parents with new born who die quite soon after birth, do they still qualify for the nine months paternity, or do they also lose this support? What do you think?

 Yours Sincerely 

 Lynn Cecil Lucas (Bereaved Parent)

On behalf of the Chris Lucas Trust  we are delighted  to announce the appointment very soon of a  senior post doctoral scientist to work exclusively on Rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS), to be based at the Royal Marsden Hospital, London,  Institute of Cancer Research, Innovative Therapies for Children with Cancer (ITCC)

The institute was chosen as the  'rhabdomyosarcoma biology lab' for a new European consortium called Innovative Therapies for Children with Cancer (ITCC)
- of which Professor Herbie Newell, Newcastle University,  is also a member.

Professor Andy Pearson who will be appointed February 1st 2005. to the Chair, at this institute, focussing on clinical trials of new drugs and will certainly be linked with our vital work on rhabdomyosarcoma, and he is very supportive of this, so the Newcastle link with this centre will be even stronger.

We are leading in the area of testing existing new drugs for activity against rhabdomyosarcoma.

Our research group is also very interested in the underlying molecular abnormalities in RMS that might be important as targets for developing new drugs.

Dr Kathy Pritchard -Jones, and Dr Janet Shipley, who leads the molecular cytogenetics group, are planning several interacting projects on rhabdomyosarcoma, all of which aim to help identify new, effective drug targets and treatment for this dreadful disease..

The Chris Lucas Trust is funding a senior post-doctoral scientist for three years minimum, to work on the molecular characterision of rhabdomyosarcoma, using 'microarray' profiling which tests thousands of genes
simultaneously.

By looking at how these results predict response to treatment, we aim to highlight the important genes for choosing new drugs to test on RMS cell lines and in the clinic and  aim to identify new targets for developing new drugs.

Unfortunately, the costs of doing these types of experiments is expensive, as is the amount needed to keep a scientist working at the bench using modern
molecular techniques.
the following costings:

Post doc £36,520 per year
Lab consumable costs for 1 scientist = £18,000 per yr
Total = £54,520 per year
plus Affymetrix arrays on 100 tumours (£400 per array) = £40,000 - cost in year one only.

It is so expensive but unfortunately these are the costs of modern molecular medicine.

Chris Lucas Trust says we desperately need vital donations to ensure the continuous work of our Senior Researcher.

Four years ago Lynn and Lynn Lucas set out on what seemed like an impossible fundraising mission.

The couple from Hadrian Park, Wallsend, wanted to raise £160,000 to pay for a medical researcher to find a cure for the rare cancer that killed their teenage son Christopher.

Now after years of organising sponsored events like the Great North Bike Ride - and with a little help from a £10,000 cheque from Tyneside-born rocker Sting - they have reached their target.

And talks are underway with scientists at Newcastle University and The Royal Marsden Hospital in London and the research position will be set up within weeks.

"It's unbelievable the response we've had from people and we're thrilled to have got all this money together," Christopher's mum Lynn, 46, said.

"We're talking to Newcastle University and The Royal Marsden in London to find out where the researcher can be based.

"This is a horrible, evil cancer and we don't know why it chose Chris or why it chooses other people.

"We're not expecting miracles but if we can help one child then it will be worth it, kids are our future, without them we don't have anything."

Christopher was 15 when he was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer called Rhabdomyosarcoma.

Although Christopher was in and out of hospital for the next three years, he never gave in to his illness, passing his GCSEs and getting a job as a graphic designer.

But on July 15, 2000, nearly three years after his first diagnosis, the brave teenager was finally beaten.

Lynn said: "It's like it just happened last week and whatever anybody says time does not heal but you have to learn to live with things.

"Having our other lovely son David has really helped. He's 19 now and the double of Christopher.

"Losing his brother hit him hard, but he's starting college soon doing the same graphic design course as Christopher.

"He's also doing the Great North Run for us this year for the first time, but if he ever gets the smallest twitch, he panics it might be something because it's like he's living on a knife edge."

Even though the Lucas family has reached the original target, Lynn said they will keep on fundraising.

Their next big event is a Christmas-themed Jingle Bell walk in December which is also Children's Cancer Month.

"We're not going to stop at £160,000," Lynn said defiantly, "We want to keep this post going for more than three years and maybe we'll be able to get a second researcher."