Our Mission
Jess was passionate about doing the ‘right thing’. She was, without question, gentle and kind, but she was also full of integrity and determination.
Despite a protracted illness and escalating symptoms, she was 'reassured' by her GP practice that she had Long Covid (despite no positive test) and that she was 'too young for cancer'.
Jess was forced to resort to a private self-referral to see a specialist. Tragically, it was too late and she died just 3 weeks later. She was 27 years old.
Jess' symptoms were a ‘red flag’ and should have triggered concern.
During her time in hospital, Jess talked a lot about raising awareness and changing things for others.
We have created the Jessica Brady CEDAR Trust as Jess’ legacy. Our mission is to improve GP awareness and diagnosis of cancer.
Currently only 54% of cancers are diagnosed at stage 1 or 2. It is imperative this improves for everyone, including young people. According to Cancer Research UK, if bowel cancer is diagnosed at Stage 1, there is 90% chance of survival for five years or more following diagnosis. If diagnosed at Stage 4, this is reduced to just 10%.
The weight of responsibility in achieving earlier diagnosis lies in the hands of General Practice Doctors.
Jessica Brady CEDAR Trust is working closely with The Department of Health and Social Care, NHS England and The Royal College of General Practitioners. We had the opportunity to read and comment on initial drafts of NHS England’s Primary Care Patient Safety Strategy, published in September 2024.
In February 2025, an e-learning training course, we part funded, for General Practice doctors was launched. The module entitled “Early diagnosis of cancer in young adults” explores the epidemiology of cancer in young adults, risk factors and the clinical aspects of a timely diagnosis. This training module has been devised and created by the Royal College of General Practitioners. It is freely available to GPs and other healthcare professionals registered with the RCGP’s learning platform.
We have ambitious plans to continue with further provision of training and awareness campaigns to support Primary Care in the future.
As a small charity we guarantee all your donations - every penny - will be spent wisely and carefully, without incurring unnecessary administrative costs.