Graham attended Cancer Research UK’s parliamentary event to discover more about the power of research which, every week, saves more than five times as many lives as there are seats in the chamber of the House of Commons.
This astonishing fact means over 2,800 people will survive cancer every week thanks to research.
Graham said: “It’s a real eye-opener to visualise the number of lives saved in terms of seats in the House of Commons. It is truly inspiring to see what research can achieve. That’s why I’m backing Cancer Research UK’s campaign to make every moment count in the fight against cancer and I’m encouraging everyone to join me.
"Every year around 38,800 people in the North West and more than 330,000 people in the UK are diagnosed with cancer. Thanks to research, survival rates have doubled in the last 40 years. This means that 45 per cent of those people will survive the disease for more than 10 years.
"Cancer Research UK’s work has been at the heart of that progress. The charity’s researchers have played a key role in the research leading to some of the landmark advances in treatment including tamoxifen for breast cancer and cisplatin for testicular cancer.
"However, despite the successes, Cancer Research UK believes much more can be done to help more people in North West and across the UK beat cancer sooner.
"The focus of the reception was on the importance of early diagnosis, radiotherapy and surgery in helping to save more lives.
“Although more people are beating the disease than ever before, survival rates in the UK still lag behind the best in Europe for nearly all common cancers. This must change and that’s why I support the campaign for improvements in all areas of the patient’s journey, from earlier diagnosis to access to the best treatments.”