Sir Bobby Robson launches cancer charity

Sir Bobby, who is battling cancer for the fifth time and has been told that this time it is incurable, said he wished the foundation to be his legacy to the world.

Launched today, the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation will initially focus on the early detection and treatment of cancer and will also help support clinical trials of promising new treatments to tackle the disease.

Its first goal is to raise the money urgently required to set up The Sir Bobby Robson Cancer Trials Research Centre at the new Northern Centre for Cancer Care in Newcastle.

The money raised will fund dedicated research facilities including a 12-bed unit with treatment rooms, a state-of-the-art laboratory and consulting facilities, all of which is being constructed at the Freeman Hospital in Newcastle.

The 75-year-old set up the foundation after being asked for help by the oncologist treating him, Dr Ruth Plummer.

He said: "I have had cancer five times now but I have had a wonderful life and I feel lucky to be alive.

"I owe my life to the people who have cared for me and treated me during the last 15 years in which I have had the disease.

"My oncologist Dr Ruth Plummer told me about a wonderful new unit they hoped to open at the Freeman Hospital in Newcastle for the early detection and treatment of cancer.

"But she told me there was no money to equip the unit, which it is hoped will be open by October, and asked me if I knew anyone who could help.

"I could not believe what she was telling me; so I spoke to my wife and some very good people close to me and I decided to use my name to create the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation, in the hope we can raise a lot of money very quickly.

"We want to help create a unit which will be not just the best in the region but the envy of the nation.

"I think I might be remembered for what I did in football.

"But the legacy I would like to leave behind is what I tried to do to help people with cancer live longer.

"We all know somebody who has been affected by cancer. It affects one in three of the population. There are so very many different forms of the disease, and for that reason the oncologists need to find many different drugs to treat it.

"That is what the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation will help them to do.

"I want to help these people who have helped me, who have saved my life so many times, to help other people too."

Speaking about his own battle with the disease he said: "I fought as a player and I fought as a manager and now, towards the end of my life I will fight cancer because there is no alternative.

"Just like in football, when things go against you, you either give it up and let things get on top of you or you keep on fighting.

"I have been on chemotherapy once a week for nine months. I'm now off the chemo and will have a scan in six weeks time to determine exactly the state of my health.

"Dr Ruth Plummer and her team have been looking after me and I have placed my life in their hands."

The first donation to the foundation has been made already.

"Yesterday a lady came to our house with a brown envelope," Sir Bobby said.

"At first I thought she was a football agent.

"But inside that envelope there was a donation of £274.71, which had been collected at a funeral.

"The man who was being buried had asked the mourners not to buy him flowers but to make a donation to the foundation because he had heard what we were trying to do.

"It is £274.71.

"It is a start."

Sir Bobby was joined at the launch at the Copthorne Hotel, in Newcastle, by legendary sports pundits Des Lynam, Jim Rosenthal, and Bob Wilson.

Mr Lynam said: "Which of our lives has not been touched by cancer?

"It is vital we give The Sir Bobby Robson Foundation our support.

"And it is typical of Sir Bobby to be thinking of and trying to help other people before himself.

"That's the kind of man he is."

Many of the doctors and nurses working in the new Sir Bobby Robson Cancer Trials Research Centre will be funded by Cancer Research UK.

They already help to ensure that local people have access to the latest cancer treatments by working in partnership with Cancer Research UK scientists at the Northern Institute for Cancer Research at Newcastle University.

This collaborative approach means that new treatments can be taken from design in the laboratory right through to evaluation in the clinic, allowing promising new treatments to reach patients quickly.

Dr Ruth Plummer, whose research is funded by Cancer Research UK, said: "We are extremely grateful to Sir Bobby for his commitment to supporting research which will benefit cancer patients in the North East."

Once the Foundation has raised sufficient funds to set up the Centre, all additional money will go towards cancer related projects in the North East.