We suggested a trophy rather than a medal. A piece with significant physical presence, with the researchers name engraved on it that would be passed on to a new recipient the following year. Furthermore, the trophy will expand by one ring every year. Our analogy was about each new award winner standing on the shoulders of the previous winner and, in fact, all the preceding researchers.

Effective cancer research now has a history of about 50 years. During this period the mortality rate has gone down by approximately 50%. An astonishing achievement, thanks to research. Our reasoning – our hope, really – is that in another 50 years the cancer menace will be beaten. In that time the trophy will have risen to about a metre in height which is probably the limit for it to be being handled on a stage.

The trophy is made of two natural and refined materials, marble and silver. The Kolmården marble, a beautiful green Swedish marble, was crafted by Mr. Tom Tjörnemar of Valter Eklund Sten in Vällingby, outside Stockholm. The rings were made by silversmith Mr. Olle Olls, in Stockholm.

The marble base represents all research that has been; which is the foundation for the research that is now and that is to come. One silver ring represents that year’s most important research accomplishment. Every year, another layer of research is added in the fight to reduce the suffering caused by cancer. With their work, every researcher stands on the shoulders of their predecessors.

But what if the trophy becomes too high? Well, let us hope that cancer has been defeated before then.