Charities

British Heart Foundation

I suppose this charity is close to my, well heart, as my dad died of a massive heart attack in 1990.

Heart and circulatory disease is the UK's biggest killer. It kills 240,000 people every year - that's four in ten deaths. It can affect anyone at any time - baby or grandparent, postman or politician. Around 125,000 women die from heart and circulatory disease, compared to 76,000 from cancer.

Two million people have or have had angina and another 655,000 have heart failure. Thousands more are recovering from heart attacks or heart surgery.

The British Heart Foundation (BHF) is leading the battle against heart and circulatory disease. The Charity is a major funder and authority in cardiovascular research, education and care.

The BHF funds research which saves lives. It helps people understand heart disease and how they can help prevent it. They produce leaflets, videos and posters for patients, health professionals and the public.

The BHF provides vital life-saving equipment for hospitals and the community. They support heart patients through BHF Nurses, rehabilitation programmes and support groups. BHF promote training in the simple skills which can save lives.

You can help BHF save and improve lives. Without donations, their work in research, education and patient care cannot continue.

http://www.bhf.org.uk/

The National Autistic Society

This is a photograph of Thomas, my nephew, who is 14 years old. You can hardly tell from the photo that he has a severe disability. He is severely autistic and has learning difficulties. He does not use any speech although he can understand some things, which are said to him. He is very active and inquisitive which means he can be a danger to himself and others. He particularly likes to explore the taste of non food items such as leaves and has been known to swallow a drawing pin once. He is very affectionate and loving but is not able to make meaningful relationships with other people. He needs a lot of care and attention and can be quite exhausting at times. He will always need to be looked after even when he is an adult. The medical profession has not been able to find any reason for his disability.

People with autism are not physically disabled and 'look' just like anybody without the disability. Due to this invisible nature it can be much harder to create awareness and understanding of the condition, yet autistic spectrum disorders are estimated to touch the lives of over 500,000 families throughout the UK.

http://www.nas.org.uk/

Cancer Research UK

More than 5,000 people are diagnosed with cancer each week in the UK (not including non melanoma skin cancers). Doctors estimate that more than one in three of us will get some form of cancer at some point in our lives.

Why doesn't everyone get cancer. There are a number of different factors all working together. Cancers tend to occur by chance. This means that the main reason why one person gets cancer and another does not, is bad luck. But some things make it more likely that someone may be unlucky enough to get cancer. We inherit the 'blueprint' for our bodies in DNA. Some people have genes that make it more likely that they will get cancer. Some have genes that protect them. Things around us can also damage our genes and make a cell cancerous. This includes poisons in cigarette smoke and radiation. Age is also a factor. The older a person gets, the more likely it is that they will get cancer.

http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/

Blimey! Scary stuff! There but for the grace of God go I ... so far!