Cancer care in Africa

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Ranked #254 in Volunteering, #47,151 overall

Campaign for Lydia

Lydia is a young mother and university lecturer in Uganda, who has been diagnosed with HER2-neu, a particularly aggressive form of breast cancer.

Survival rates for patients with HER2 were relatively low compared to other forms of breast cancer, but the drug Herceptin has revolutionised treatment and can reduce the chance of a recurrence of the cancer by half.

The cost of a 12 month course of Herceptin is approximately £30,000. Without help there is no way Lydia will be able to afford the treatment.

Lydia is a wonderful person and mother and has a lot to offer. She is desperate to get through this and her supporters are determined to raise the money to give her a good chance of doing that.

This campaign is being run by Uganda Cancer Trust - a UK based charity raising money to support cancer treatment, education and care in Uganda. More than 60% of cancer deaths occur in developing countries, but only 5% of cancer spending.

Thanks for visiting!

Latest news 

The latest on Lydia's progress and our fundraising activities.

3 October 2009

We're very busy at the moment preparing for a few big fundraising events over the coming months. More details will appear here soon, but they are likely to involve a big Ugandan party to brighten up the Winter months, and a major sponsored challenge for later in 2010.

Lydia has finally finished her chemo! She's looking well and is now trying to organise radiotherapy treatment. The machine in Uganda is not suitable for the treatment she needs to find an alternative.

A big thanks as always to all the generous donations which keep coming in - particularly to Alex, his sparring partners and all his sponsors for the 50 Rounds of Pain event (more details below).

Jenny

50 rounds of pain! 

On 13 September 2009 Alex Hannah endured an epic 50 rounds of sparring to raise more than £700 for Uganda Cancer Trust UK and our Campaign for Lydia.



Over 4.5 hours he fought in 50 consecutive 3 minute sparring rounds...

...10 judo



...10 Brazilian jujitsu



...10 wrestling



...some quick changes of kit



...10 kickboxing



... and 10 boxing!



A very big thanks to Alex and all his sparring partners for an awesome afternoon. We're feeling inspired to get fit and do something challenging now... so watch this space.

How you can help 

There are lots of ways to get involved - and not all involve money!

  • Tell your friends about this lens, or set up a link.
  • Donate! This links takes you to Paypal, which is a safe, secure and easy way to pay by credit or debit card. All donations, minus Paypal transaction charges, will go directly to funding Lydia's treatment.
    Anything you are able to give, however small, would really help.
  • Have a look at our recommendations on Amazon below.
  • Let us know your fund-raising ideas.
  • Join our facebook group to keep up to date with what we're doing and take part in fund-raising activities.
  • Visit the website of artist Tony Whitehouse, who is donating the profits from all prints he sells to Lydia's treatment fund.
  • Follow our fund-raising progress on Twitter and spread the word to your followers.

10 Facts about Lydia 

  1. She was born in the Luwero triangle in 1978 and now lives in Kampala, Uganda
  2. She teaches law at university and has just set up a piggery to generate more income for her family
  3. She is fearless - her first time in a canoe she paddled straight into the middle of the lake, even though she didn't know how to swim!
  4. She loves and believes in God
  5. She is married with two children, Josiah (2) and Jemima (4 months)
  6. She loves children and believes that every child should grow up with their parents. She has every intention of seeing her babies grow up!
  7. Her favourite films are comedies and musicals, especially the Sound of Music
  8. She wrote her dissertation on the role of proper water management in conflict resolution
  9. She volunteered at the Human Rights and Peace Centre at Makerere University.
  10. She needs to raise £30,000 (97M USh) for life-saving treatment

Lydia and family 

September 2009

£11,300

Fund-raising totals 

Thanks to everyone who has helped raise money for Lydia so far!

Donations - £5138
Sponsored walk on 14 June 2009 - £4482
Club night - £1000
Coffee mornings - £420
Tony Whitehouse prints - £260

Our targets are to raise:
£10,000 by September 2009
£20,000 by March 2010
£30,000 by September 2010

Biggest donors

Special thanks go to Chris, Dan, Jane, John, Alison, Nicole, Frauke, Kate, Ezekiel, the Franciscan Convent in Leicester, Chris Brewer and Let's Go Travel for their generous donations.

Thanks particularly to David who organised the sponsored walk, put on a delicious barbecue for the walkers at his house, and gave an extremely generous donation.

Yousef has provided incredible support in his sponsorship of the walk and hosting a special fundraising night at his club in London, and Saida has done a lot of work in mobilising the Ugandan community in London.

Donate!

Fund-raising ideas 

Suggest fund-raising ideas and vote for the best ones

1

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Anti-New Years' Party

We're thinking about organising a ceilidh in Londo more...4 points

2

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Pub quiz in London

Late summer pub quiz and raffle at a yet to be det more...3 points

3

Vote Up
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Win an i-Pod

Selling raffle tickets to win an i-Pod2 points

4

Vote Up
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Christmas cards

Selling Ugandan style christmas cards and presents2 points

5

Vote Up
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Awareness Ribbons and Related Products

Sell different cancer awareness ribbon products. S more...1 point

About cancer in Uganda 

Cancer in Uganda is on the rise. People are living longer and developing a more western lifestyle with the associated bad habits - eating unhealthily, drinking and smoking. Only around 5% of the population seek professional medical treatment, making it difficult to understand the full picture.

Population
Uganda: 31 Million
UK: 61 Million

Number of oncologists
Uganda: 1
UK: 324

Number of radiotherapy centres
Uganda: 1 old machine
UK: 60

Breast cancer diagnosis
Uganda: 95% of cases are already at an advanced stage when diagnosed
US: Approximately 15% are at an advanced stage when diagnosed

Breast cancer 5 year survival rates
Uganda: 32%
US: 81%

What do you think? 

We'd love to hear from you!
- leave a message for Lydia
- let us know what you think of the lens
- is there anything you would like us to add
- share your ideas for fund-raising

submit
  • Reply
    Quirina Quirina Sep 12, 2009 @ 3:28 am
    Fantastic progress, congrats! And good luck for tomorrow's event..
  • Reply
    Alex HANNAH Alex HANNAH Sep 7, 2009 @ 5:19 pm
    Hi guys, On Sunday I am doing a sponsored sparring session this will be me doing 10 rounds of Judo, 10 rounds Brazillian Jui Jitsu, 10 rounds Wrestling , 10 rounds Boxing and 10 rounds kick boxing.
    To make it more intresting my sparring partners for the Judo are both Black Belts.
    The sparring partners for the Brazillian Jui Jitsu include a 120kg Black belt a brown belt and a purple belt. (I myself am purple)
    The wrestling will partners will be patrick at 100 kg wrestler and Nigeria's national champiomn, Jon Owens World Police and Fire Games champion at under 130kg.
    Boxing partners will include Kevin Micthell Southern area amatuer boxing champion at cruiser weight and Danny Williams sparring Partner. Possibly Danny Williams however he may have previous engagment.
    The Kick boxing partners will involve Matt MITCHELL a Kickboxing coach and black belt with some of his pupils.

    By the end of this I will be badly beaten so please sponsor me, Please.
  • Reply
    Josephine Tusingwire Josephine Tusingwire Aug 21, 2009 @ 12:52 pm
    You have all our prayers gal.God does miracles remember
  • Reply
    janlia janlia Jul 14, 2009 @ 5:54 am
    What a fantastic achievement, Thanks to all you guys for the hard work.And to you lydia, u do look smashing in this latest photo!!
  • Reply
    Quirina Quirina Jul 12, 2009 @ 7:35 am
    Dont worry, I know you're busy, and so am I!
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Uganda Cancer Trust UK
A UK based charity raising money to support cancer treatment, education and care in Uganda.
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A group of breast cancer survivors who want to raise awareness and help other affected women have a less traumatic experience.
Suubi Trust
A charity raising money to improve healthcare provision in Uganda

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