A 'LIFE size 3D letterform' sculpture of Wallingford resident Rupert Beazley has gone on display as part of a public art installation in London to mark the launch of the Make Blood Cancer Visible campaign.

The sculpture of Rupert's name stands at 5ft 10in tall – Rupert's exact height – and is one of 104 sculptures on display throughout September (blood cancer awareness month) to represent the 104 individuals that are diagnosed with blood cancer every day.

Mr Beazley said: "My diagnosis of Chronic Lymphocytic Leukaemia – the most common form of leukaemia in adults in the UK – came as a frightening and traumatic shock.

"I had very little information and found it hard to explain what living with this incurable blood cancer meant.

"Since my diagnosis, I'm very proud of having become a Trustee of the CLL Support Association (CLLSA) – the only UK charity dedicated to providing education, support, and advocacy to help empower people living with CLL. Our involvement in the Make Blood Cancer Visible campaign is just one of the ways we are working to raise awareness of CLL."

The installation in Paternoster Square, created by designer Paul Cocksedge and sponsored by Janssen Pharmaceuticals, aims to bring more attention to blood cancer across the UK.

CLL is a cancer of a type of white blood cell called a B lymphocyte which plays a role in the immune system - this makes CLL patients at increased risk of infections and other diseases. CLL cells can accumulate in the bone marrow, blood, and lymph nodes and can cause organ enlargement, tiredness, weight loss, night sweats and fever.

A third of people with CLL go to their doctor feeling unwell, with swollen lymph nodes, liver or spleen enlargement, symptoms of anaemia, or bruising, but the majority of people with CLL are diagnosed by chance often from a routine blood test taken for another reason.

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