Poet Laureate Simon Armitage has marked World Cancer Day with a new poem inspired by voices from Leeds and across Yorkshire, spotlighting the people living with cancer alongside the researchers and supporters working to change outcomes.
Commissioned by Yorkshire Cancer Research, the poem, entitled ‘The Campaign’ — reflects on a century of progress in cancer prevention, early diagnosis and treatment, while stressing the work still needed to create a future free from cancer in Yorkshire and beyond. The charity says someone in Yorkshire is diagnosed with cancer every 17 minutes. Before writing the poem, Simon Armitage visited the Yorkshire Cancer Research Centre in Harrogate, where he heard 17 accounts from around the region — from scientists driving new discoveries to fundraisers, bereaved families and people currently living with cancer.
Among those whose story helped shape the poem is 68-year-old Gary Lovelace, a former headteacher from Leeds who is living with advanced kidney cancer. After surgery to remove the cancer, later scans showed it had spread and could not be cured. He now receives ongoing treatment to slow the disease and has dedicated himself to living life to the fullest — while also fundraising for pioneering research in Yorkshire.
He is one of thousands of supporters referenced in the poem as holding up a ‘giant charity cheque’ in the face of cancer.
Gary Lovelace said: “I’m not sure how long I’ve got left but I am determined to have as much fun as possible. Fundraising has given me a new purpose and tremendous focus at this stage of my life. It’s important for me to raise money and help continue the charity’s impact in the region and beyond.”
Another Leeds voice featured in Armitage’s visit was Suzanne Rogerson, a research nurse and charity supporter whose work has helped people live longer, healthier lives. Suzanne, Lead Nurse for Research and Innovation at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, played a key role in the Yorkshire Lung Screening Trial — a lung cancer screening programme funded by Yorkshire Cancer Research.
She told Armitage that lung cancer remains one of Yorkshire’s leading causes of death, but that pioneering research is opening the door to faster, better ways of detecting it.
Suzanne Rogerson said: “Thanks to Yorkshire Cancer Research, I’ve seen the good that comes out of research. Evidence from the Yorkshire Lung Screening Trial helped inform the NHS Lung Cancer Screening Programme, set to be fully rolled out across the country by 2030. This will save thousands of lives in Yorkshire and beyond.
It’s vital we hold onto and attract researchers here in Yorkshire so we can continue this work. You can’t do that without the funding, and having a local charity passionate about saving lives in Yorkshire is so important.”
Professor Eric Blair, also from Leeds, spoke of both scientific progress and personal motivation. In the 1990s, with Yorkshire Cancer Research funding, Blair and his team investigated how human papillomavirus (HPV) causes cervical cancer, helping to reveal how the virus can evade the immune system — work that contributed to new approaches in treatment and prevention. He later helped establish a Scientific Advisory Committee at the charity and, for 17 years as its secretary, worked with experts to review research applications and raise the organisation’s profile.
During the meeting, Blair also shared his own experience of cancer. Diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2006, he said early detection and surgery enabled him to recover fully, and he has now been cancer-free for 19 years.
Eric Blair said: “It was an honour to take part in the meeting with Simon Armitage. As a fellow professor at the University of Leeds, Simon’s passion for Yorkshire and its people was clear. Hearing the experiences of people affected by cancer and their hopes for the future reminded me why I’ve dedicated much of my life to research.”
Talking about his motivation behind the poem, Laureate Simon Armitage said:
“I ran with the idea of cancer as an ‘enemy’ that must be tackled through ingenuity, decades of research and painstaking discovery. Cancer is also a dragon in the mind, demanding a certain bloody-mindedness – a true Yorkshire characteristic – to overcome this shadow and threat to our daily lives.
“It was saddening to hear experiences of illness and bereavement. I felt very moved by their experiences. It was also a privilege to listen to testimonies of determination, resilience and hope, and to learn about how Yorkshire Cancer Research has given people a positive focus in their lives.”
Dr Kathryn Scott, Chief Executive at Yorkshire Cancer Research said:
“It was a privilege to welcome Poet Laureate Simon Armitage to the Yorkshire Cancer Research Centre. Simon’s words capture the spirit of Yorkshire – its resilience, generosity and determination – and gives voice to a century of breakthroughs driven by people in our region, whose efforts have saved countless lives around the world.
As we look to the future, the poem serves as a powerful reminder of why the charity began this mission and why we must keep moving forward to bring more cancer cures to Yorkshire. Together, we will continue to make great progress toward a Yorkshire free from cancer.”
Yorkshire Cancer Research has supported cancer research and life-saving services for more than a century, funding work aimed at helping people across Yorkshire live longer, healthier lives free from cancer. Established in 1925, the charity says Yorkshire remains among the regions most affected by cancer in England — a challenge it is tackling through improved prevention, earlier diagnosis and better treatments.
Yorkshire Cancer Research says it funds £75 million of pioneering research and services, including 26 clinical trials, to develop new and better ways to prevent, diagnose and treat cancer in Yorkshire — work which, the charity hopes, the new poem will help bring into sharper public focus www.yorkshirecancerresearch.org.uk
The Campaign
Because we famously speak as we find
we said the word cancer out loud, called it a dragon,
went looking for trouble and picked a fight.
When it reared up in the liver we went into action,
outflanked it, stoned it with tablets and pills.
When it hid in the kidneys or blood we rootled it out,
chased it into the open then shooed it over the hill.
Whenever it raised its serpent’s head we slapped it
hard in the mush with a giant charity cheque,
baited it, lured it out of its lair then zapped it
with photons, protons, compounds and hormones,
messed with its atoms and cells till its forked tongue
was tongue-tied, and tied its forked tail in knots.
When it hunkered down in the prostate gland
or made a nest for itself in the bladder or bowel
we caught it on camera, waylaid it with magnets,
tracked and traced it across the body’s ridings
and wolds, through ginnels and snickets,
then galloped against it with needles for lances,
aimed wave after wave of invisible bullets
into its bitter heart, bamboozled its dark soul.
When it perched on the breast we clipped its wings
with skilful hands; when it smouldered and skulked
in the lungs or roared with its fiery breath
we drowned it with thousands of voices, tamed it
with words and songs. When it tainted the skin
with its presence we pierced its scales, punctured
its plated hide, flummoxed it right to the core.
When it prowled in the mind we outfoxed it,
killed it with kindness, ran rings around it
with marathons, pram races, tea dances, car rallies,
left it behind in the trolley dash, laughed in its face,
stood shoulder to shoulder, held hands, linked arms,
and flew a white rose on a flag wherever it fell.
But the job isn’t over, the work isn’t done;
it broods and lurks in organs and genes,
muscles in on our lives, so we push forward,
keep slaying the dragon inside, keep Yorkshiring on.
Poet Laureate Simon Armitage
