A PARALYMPIC gold-medalist has launched a £535k breast cancer scheme.

Dame Sarah Storey, who completed in both swimming and cycling, marked the launch of a three year deal which will see Boot Out Breast Cancer (BOBC) support The Christie charity.

The scheme hopes to give more breast cancer patients across Greater Manchester access to clinical trials.

Recent research has shown that affluent areas of the borough have three times more patients participating in research trials than those in more deprived and ethically diverse areas of the region.

To combat this inequality, programmes in Bolton, Wigan, Oldham, Tameside, and Wythenshaw will be expanded to understand and develop research across the area.

Dame Sarah has been a patron of BOBC since it was launched in 2010.

She said: “I’m delighted to support this wonderful initiative as my mother suffered from breast cancer and received wonderful care at The Christie.

“I wear the logo on my cycling jersey and bike, as do all my riders in the Storey Racing Cycling Team, which shows how proud I am to be a patron.

“To see both organisations join forces to get more women in Greater Manchester access to better treatments is amazing and I am thrilled to support it.”

The funding boost from BOBC will help create staffing roles as part of an outreach programme to offer more patients a larger range of treatment options across Greater Manchester.

Each year around 55,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer in the UK.

Diagnosis is more common in women who are over 50, although it can also affect younger women and men.

Since 2004, five year survival has increased significantly for breast cancer in the Greater Manchester region, with over 85 out of every 100 women diagnosed surviving at least five years.

Greater Manchester now has a better five year survival for breast cancer than England as a whole, attributed to better treatments developed through clinical trials at The Christie.