Sarah Harding lost her battle with breast cancer aged 39 in 2021 but told her loved ones she wanted to create a program to save other young women from suffering the same fate
A breast cancer study launched in the memory of late Girls Aloud singer Sarah Harding has already helped save more than 80 young women who were at risk of developing the disease. The Breast Cancer Risk Assessment in Young Women (BCAN-RAY) study was set up in May 2023 at the request of the girl band star who died from breast cancer in 2021 at the age of 39.
Sarah’s last wish was to help find new ways of spotting the disease earlier. Dr Sacha Howell, who was Harding’s consultant while she was receiving treatment at The Christie Hospital in Manchester, said: “Breast cancer is the biggest killer of women aged 35-50 in the UK but if you pick it up early enough you don’t die from it.
“This research isn’t about prolonging people’s lives for a year or two. It’s about curing people so they can live full lives with their loved ones.” He added: “The Sarah Harding Young Women’s Breast Cancer Fellowship will bring us a step closer to achieving Sarah’s goal.
“Her wish was that no other young woman should experience the shock and devastation of a breast cancer diagnosis when they have no reason to think they are at risk and have no family history of the disease.”
The Christie said that to date, the BCAN-RAY study has recruited 500 women aged between 30 and 39 years old, who have had their risk assessment appointments; 404 have been given their risks – 88 were found as ‘increased risk’ and 316 as ‘average risk’.
Out of the 88 identified, 58 women have had telephone consultations to discuss the implications of their increase in risk, including strategies to reduce risk and medication advice.
The second phase of the study will see the creation of a research lab dedicated to examining breast cancer in younger women and a new medical role in Sarah Harding’s name. The study is one of the world’s first research programmes to identify breast cancer risks in younger women without a family history of the disease.
Funded by The Christie Charity, Cancer Research UK, and The Shine Bright Foundation, the study focuses on exploring risk factors and creating personalised early screening options for women as young as 30. Sarah’s bandmates, Cheryl Tweedy, Nadine Coyle, Nicola Roberts and Kimberley Walsh have pledged to support the programme raising as much money as needed to fulfil her wish.
In a joint statement, the former Girls Aloud singers said: “Before Sarah passed away, we promised her we would fulfil her wish of raising as much money as possible for vital breast cancer research. Too many young women who have no reason to believe they are at risk of breast cancer are dying from the disease. We miss Sarah every day and will do everything in our power to support research in her name to reduce the chances of other women going through what she experienced.”
