MANY MANY THANKS TO ALL MY GENEROUS COLLEAGUES AND FRIENDS FOR SPONSORING ME.

I HAVE NOW AMALGAMATED MY PAGE INTO LETI'S TEAM PAGE - LEUKAEMIA RESEARCH (LETI'S TEAM). 

Thanks for taking the time to visit Simon Pugsley's JustGiving head-shaving page.

I am raising money for Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research.  Please feel free to donate a few pounds to this worthwhile cause.

I will be shaving what remains of my hair off on Thursday 7 October.  I had the idea as a result of my niece, Leti, getting leukaemia last year when she was 4.  Her page, in case you are interested in other fundraising done with her in mind, is at www.justgiving.com/letipugsley.

Leti was a beautiful bubbly 4 year old in the Summer of last year, when she started to go downhill.  She was ultimately diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) in the Autumn of last year.

Leti is now thankfully in remission, so her treatment for the next 12 months of "maintenance" is much reduced and bearable, but for the first 9 months of intensive treatment she was treated almost daily for ALL at the Ospedale S. Gerardo di Monza, in Italy where she lives

Treatment is extremely painful and intrusive.  It basically revolves around being injected with corrosive chemicals which kill both white blood cells and the cancer cells.  The patient loses hair and disease immunity during the treatment - often it is the absence of immunity which kills.

Most children now survive leukaemia. The survival rate has dramatically increased to around 80% thanks to modern treatments.  However the treatment is often not successful and patients can continue with recurrences of leukaemia for years.

I cannot think of anything worse, as a parent, than having a child with a chronic and terrifying illness such as leukaemia.  Leukaemia Research is one of the primary UK charities active in researching the causes, treatment and cure of leukaemia (including ALL).  In particular, they are researching the long term effects of leukaemia treatment and honing the current protocols (treatments).

Ultimately the hope is that leukaemia will be beaten, with the discovery of a total cure and/or an understanding of what causes it and vaccination.  Until that time we have to rely on the research now being undertaken, much of it by the charitable sector.

Without Leukaemia Research Leti would probably not be alive.  Therefore her parents have decided to try to raise the £80,000 that it will cost for Leti to go through the 2 years of treatment that is needed.  If she relapses, or has a bone marrow transplant, the cost is significantly more than this.

 

As an example of what Leukaemia Research has achieved, the MRD test was pioneered by Leukaemia Research over a 15 year period at a cost of GB£3 million and is now being rolled out by the NHS in the UK as standard treatment for all children with ALL.  Leti had the MRD on Day 33, on Day 78 and again at the beginning of June at the end of the "reinduction" phase of treatment.  

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to Leukaemia Research and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - we raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

So please dig deep and donate now if you can.  Otherwise, thanks for reading this page. I will post a photo of my glorious baldness soon after I am shorn.

Many thanks !

Simon