The Science Museum Group announces a new free exhibition exploring the revolution in science that is changing the world of cancer care.
Opening at the Science and Industry Museum in Manchester in October 2021, Cancer Revolution: Science, innovation and hope is the first major object-rich exhibition to reveal the past, present and future of how cancer is prevented, detected and treated.
Created by the Science Museum Group with support from Cancer Research UK, this world-first exhibition explores how, at a pivotal moment when one in two of us will be diagnosed with cancer in our lifetime, more of us than ever before are living longer, and better with the disease and beyond.
The exhibition will present the stories of people affected by cancer, together with those who study and treat it, revealing how researchers, clinicians, policymakers and patients are fuelling progress in a powerful expression of shared hope.
From busting myths about the causes of cancer, to exploring how the disease isn’t unique to humans and how the latest cancer science, early detection technologies and immunotherapies are advancing cancer care today, Cancer Revolution: Science, innovation and hope shows how far we have come. The exhibition also shows how cancer has been treated over the centuries, from high-risk surgeries to the discovery of the first chemotherapy drugs, and also the important challenges that remain to be solved.
Katie Dabin, Lead Curator of Cancer Revolution says: ‘Despite the advances in survival that have been made there are still big questions to address. Why do treatments sometimes stop working? Why does cancer come back in some people but not others? How can we help more people with cancer live better and longer?’
‘What we’ll show is that the revolution happening in cancer care is also about more than just science. There’s a profound shift in expectations and attitudes – cancer is no longer regarded as a terminal disease or as a disease that can’t be mentioned by name. Today more people than ever before can be treated or live with the disease for a long time. Hope has broken the silence that surrounded cancer. Whilst we can’t cancer-proof our lives, we can take agency in the face of it – from speaking more openly about it, being aware of its causes and symptoms, dispelling misconceptions and stigma, and by being open to finding out more about it.”
Michelle Mitchell, Cancer Research UK’s chief executive, says: “This major new exhibition will show how cancer care is being revolutionised, thanks to research which is making transformative steps in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer – a disease that has such a devastating impact on millions of people and families.”
The exhibition will be open to public from 22 October 2021 – March 2022.
