04
Feb
Poet Laureate pens new poem inspired by Harrogate people's cancer experiences
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The Poet Laureate, Simon Armitage, has written a new poem for World Cancer Day, inspired in part by the experiences of two people affected by cancer in Harrogate.
The aim of World Cancer Day, which is marked today (February 4), is to raise awareness of cancer and to encourage its prevention, detection, and treatment.
Simon Armitage’s poem, The Campaign, was commissioned by Yorkshire Cancer Research and pays tribute to a century of progress in cancer prevention, early diagnosis and treatment, while highlighting the work still needed to create a future free from cancer, in Yorkshire and beyond.
Before writing it, he visited the Yorkshire Cancer Research Centre in Harrogate to hear from 17 people from across Yorkshire – researchers pioneering new discoveries, fundraisers dedicated to saving lives, families who have sadly lost loved ones, and those living with cancer.
Hugh's story
Among those who inspired the poem is 65-year-old Hugh Chown from Harrogate, who first started volunteering at the Yorkshire Cancer Research shop in Harrogate after he was diagnosed with bowel cancer in 2020.
However, Hugh’s motivation to support pioneering cancer research started before that, after his wife died of bowel cancer in 2002. Ever since then, he’s wanted to help make sure other families wouldn’t have to face the same loss he and his two daughters experienced.
Simon Armitage with Hugh Chown.
Thankfully, Hugh’s bowel cancer was caught early – an example of the poem’s reference to bowel cancer being caught “on camera”. This meant he was able to take part in a pioneering clinical trial investigating the most effective treatment for early-stage bowel cancer.
Hugh said:
My wife’s cancer was very advanced when it was diagnosed, and she passed away only a year later. It was a really awful time for me and my two daughters. I can see how much cancer treatment has improved in the 20 years between my wife’s diagnosis and my own, and by raising funds for research, we can help continue that life-saving mission.
Reflecting on the meeting with Simon Armitage, Hugh said:
I think it’s important that the Poet Laureate is celebrating how Yorkshire Cancer Research is continuing its mission to improve the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer.
Not only does the research help to save lives but it brings something very positive to the lives of those who support the charity’s vital work, whether that be through volunteering, fundraising or spreading awareness.
Jackie's story
Someone else who inspired the poem is 57-year-old Jackie Buxton from Huby, a committed charity supporter and passionate spokesperson for early cancer diagnosis. After discovering a lump in her breast, Jackie visited her doctor to have it checked and was diagnosed with triple positive breast cancer. Thanks partly to early detection, her treatment was successful.
Jackie said:
I was lucky to have my breast cancer diagnosed early. By doing regular body checks you can considerably increase the chances of finding cancer early. The second you suspect something, make that appointment. It could save your life.
In the poem, Simon Armitage references the many pioneering “tablets and pills” developed through research to treat cancer. One example is the ground-breaking drug Tamoxifen, developed with funding from Yorkshire Cancer Research, which Jackie took to help prevent her cancer from returning.
12 years after her initial diagnosis, Jackie is cancer-free.
Speaking of her meeting with Simon, Jackie said:
It was a privilege to meet him in person, and I feel very honoured that he gave his time to listen to our stories. I remain in awe of his ability to take in the thousands of words spoken that afternoon and condense them into a single, evocative and incredibly powerful poem.
'Cancer is a dragon of the mind'
After meeting Hugh, Jackie and others, Simon said:
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.
The Poet Laureate is an honorary position appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. Although there are no specific duties involved, the holder is expected to write verse for significant national occasions.
Previous Poets Laureate have included John Dryden, William Wordsworth, Alfred Lord Tennyson, John Betjeman and Ted Hughes.
Speaking about his motivation behind the poem, Huddersfield-born Simon 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.
Yorkshire Cancer Research in Harrogate.
As Yorkshire’s cancer charity, Yorkshire Cancer Research, which is based on Hornbeam Park in Harrogate, funds £75 million of pioneering research and services, including 26 clinical trials, to find new and better ways to prevent, diagnose and treat cancer in Yorkshire.
Simon added:
Yorkshire Cancer Research might be regionally based, but it punches well above its weight. It has contributed huge breakthroughs in cancer treatment and research, both nationally and internationally. Yorkshire has a large number of people who are diagnosed with cancer every year, and it’s inspiring to see the charity’s commitment to change that.
Every 17 minutes, there is a new cancer diagnosis in Yorkshire.
Dr Kathryn Scott, chief executive of Yorkshire Cancer Research.
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.
You can read Simon Armitage’s poem The Campaign, and find out more about Hugh’s and Jackie’s experiences, here.
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