Donations

You can contribute to this worthwhile cause by making a donation using these websites:

The Cavernoma Alliance

www.justgiving.com/shavethebush

CHILDREN with LEUKAEMIA

www.bmycharity.com/V2/shavethebush

I have chosen The Cavernoma Alliance as a recipient for this event because it is the only charity that I am aware of that provides any support to those who are affected like me. Not one person I have ever met before had heard of my condition. I had no idea of what it was. However, it is not so uncommon. Although the causes are unknown, from my research I agree with a number of the scholars who have posed that Cavernoma’s are affected by the use of the mobile phone, a stressful lifestyle and use of illicit substances. For me, I have no doubt that the stress I have put myself under over the past few years has been the instigator for my haemorrhages. Therefore, it is highly probable that more and more people will be affected by this condition and the sooner we find out more about how this condition is caused and what we can do to treat it, the better for us all.

The Cavernoma Alliance has been a fantastic source of information for me. It has provided me with easy to access simple information and has provided the same for my family through the leaflets and other information available online. They also regularly put on events where Cavernoma sufferers can meet and discuss their conditions, and where renowned surgeons and neurologists come to give lectures on the most recent medical developments. I have attended these events and found them invaluable. Without these donations, I would still be completely ignorant of my condition, the symptoms, the possible treatments, and changing medical methods and research in this area.

I have chosen CHILDREN with LEUKAEMIA because not all are as lucky as me to be able to have a ‘quick fix’ operation and return to normality thereafter. In 2006, 7,237 people in the UK were diagnosed with leukaemia; in 2007, 4,350 people died in the UK from leukaemia (Cancer Research UK: http://info.cancerresearchuk.org/cancerstats/
types/leukaemia/index.htm). However, leukaemia is the most common childhood cancer, affecting up to 500 children every year in the UK. About one third of all childhood cancers are leukaemias with brain and spinal tumours being the most common, accounting for just under a quarter of cases. In 2003, there were 470 cases of leukaemia diagnosed in children in the UK (0-14 years of age). A recent study of childhood cancer rates in Europe showed an average annual increase of 1.4% in childhood lymphoid leukaemia during 1970-1999. The increasing incidence appears to be affecting mainly the under-five age group with incidence in older children remaining fairly static, and the growing incidence occuring in developed countries (Finland, Italy and Switzerland primarily) [Steliarova-Foucher E, Still CA, Kaatsch P, Berrino F, Coeberg JWW, Lacour B, Parkin M. Geographical patterns and time trends of cancer incidence and survival among children and adolescents in Europe since the 1970s (the ACCIS project): an epidemiological study. Lancet 2004; 364: 2097-2105].

Up until now, and even now, I have had a happy and healthy life. I have played on the school and university sports teams, and I have never before been dependent on medication. It is as a result of this that I have got as far as I have in my career. Children with Leukaemia are far from so fortunate. They may never get to go to school or hit a ball around a pitch. They undergo multiple medical procedures, ingest more medication than they will food, and all this is maybe only for a few more days in the hospital.

Research into both these conditions is desperately lacking in funds. Your donations will go directly to these charities to assist in their research programmes and to assist those who suffer daily with these conditions.