Fighting Leukaemia through Blood, Sweat & Tears
Join The Leukathon and make a difference
As many of you know, our great mate Luke Chapman, Chappo, had the fight of his life in 2020 battling Leukaemia. Going from diagnosis to treatment within a matter of days was a complete shock, as this new world of leukaemia and blood cancers was thrust upon him. Going through the early stages of his treatment, Chappo's eyes were opened to some of the realities faced by those living with blood cancers. The hospital where he was receiving treatment is the largest center of its kind in Europe, with over four floors of patients battling with these horrible diseases - one of which is entirely dedicated to children and adolescents. On top of the battle he was facing personally, the harsh reality of this environment had an impact on him, and many of those around him. So Chappo and a few of his friends put their heads together to see what we could do to help, and the result was the Leukathon, a global effort to bring much needed awareness and fundraising to support leukaemia and blood cancer patients. What does it take to be part of The Leukathon? It’s simple. We’re asking you, wherever you are in the world, to do three things: Give some of your blood, sweat and tears.
A snapshot of Leukathon 2020
Give Blood and Stem Cells
Receiving blood transfusions became a fact of life for Chappo immediately upon diagnosis. Blood transfusions keep blood cancer patients alive during treatment. The volumes required to support him and others is enormous, Chappo required blood from the equivalent of 20 adult donors during only his first round of chemo.
The other way you can help is registering yourself as a stem cell donor, or encouraging those around you to do so. Chappo was fortunate enough to have a sibling donor which saved his life, but many others (in fact 7 out of 10) aren’t so fortunate and rely on the donor registry to find their match, which can be challenging.
Show your support by getting behind these two very practical needs of blood cancer patients.
Sweat - donate that hard-earned
Think about giving some of that hard-earned money to a worthy cause? Well why not support stem cell medicine, which offered Chappo and many others, a second chance at life after a horrible diagnosis. Stem Cells are miraculous things, and there is so much more that can be done to not only make the transplant procedure safer, but also to improve relapse outcomes, and expand the application of this powerful medical treatment. We are working directly with a research charity called Arrow in Australia, to fund a multi-year program to improve treatment options and patient outcomes for people suffering from Leukaemia.
Tears - The Leukathon
Every day blood cancer patients front up for their treatment, and grit their way through a lot of pain. Chappo knows this oh too well. Following on from the efforts of many of his friends and family in 2020, Chappo has got the gang back together and this year, with a fresh set of his sister’s stem cells on board, is going to join them! The Leukathon is set to take place on October 23 2021, and will be an opportunity for anyone to take part and put themselves through a little bit of pain in solidarity with those who don’t get to choose…. In the UK we have a group swimming and cycling from London to Paris, in Sydney we have another attempt at an outrageous multi-sport event … what will you do on a Saturday in October? Follow the link below to get in touch and share.