2019 is a special year for the Leukaemia Cancer Society as we celebrate our 25th anniversary as a registered charity. Since the Leukaemia Cancer Society (LCS) was formed it has developed into a charity that raises money devoted to the recruitment of volunteer bone marrow donors, research, education and patient care.

The timeline of our history shows just a snippet of what we‘ve done and all that we have achieved.

Anna Georgiou

John Triteos

• In 1994, leukaemia sufferers John Triteos and Anna Georgiou, who needed bone marrow transplants to save their lives, began making a desperate appeal for bone marrow donors to come forward. We worked hard encouraging people of Cypriot Origin to join the Anthony Nolan register. We quickly realised that significantly increasing the number of Mediterranean donors was no easy task and we started looking into how to address this issue.

 

• In 1997, we were proud Co-founders of the Cyprus Bone Marrow Registry the Karaiskakio Foundation. The Cyprus Bone Marrow Donor Registry was established with the help and support of the Anthony Nolan Trust, whose significant assistance is recognised and acknowledged. The Karaiskakio Foundation set off with a wish to offer hope to patients, worldwide, with leukaemia or any other haematological diseases, and today has been acknowledged both locally and internationally as a modern scientific centre of high quality. Today with almost 200,000 registered volunteer donors , has the highest per capita ratio of donors in the world. Being advanced and efficient with highly qualified and experienced staff, it helps patients from all over the world to find compatible donors for bone marrow transplantation. All donors recruited through the Registry automatically become part of Bone Marrow Donors Worldwide (BMDW) which can be easily accessed by all registries in their search for a compatible donor.

 

Dr Pavlos Costeas – Executive Director, Karaiskakio Foundation

“The Karaiskakio Foundation is a non-profit organization originally set up with the main aim to establish and manage a Bone Marrow Donor Register. Today, posing a potential vision “for a world without leukaemia”, combining volunteering and specialised scientific support, directly, and effectively serving the needs of patients with hematologic malignancies.

 

The inspiration to estabish the karaiskakio Foundation was the battle against leukaemia fought  by John Triteos, Anna Georgiou from London and five year old Andreas Karaiskakis from Cyprus, who after desperate efforts to find compatible bone marrow donors ultimately lost the battle for life.

 

The Leukaemia Cancer Society of the United Kingdom, one of the co-founders, is represented on the Karaiskakio Foundation Board of Directors (BOD) Foundation together with representatives of the Ministry of Health, the Karaiskaki family, other  charities and  elected members of the Foundation.

 

The original aim of the Karaiskakio Foundation, based on the study of the first Medical and Scientific Committee, was to recruit 32,000 volunteer donors, deemed unattainable taking the small population of Cyprus. These predictions have been exceeded, today there over 190.000 registered volunteer donors making the Foundation the largest voluntary organization in Cyprus and the largest bone marrow donor register to population ratio worldwide.  More than 470 volunteers had the opportunity to give life to a corresponding number of patients from 32 different countries.

The Leukaemia Cancer Society was a pioneer and has been beside the Karaiskakio Foundation from its conception.”

Andreas Karaiskakis

• In 2003, we acquired our premises in North London that was converted to provided patient accommodation.

 

• In 2004, the tissue typing laboratory of the Karaiskakio Foundation, Cyprus Bone Marrow Registry, was accredited by the European Federation of Immunogenetics (EFI).

 

• In 2012, to mark our increased focus in patient services and research we changed our name from The Leukaemia Society UK to, Leukaemia Cancer Society.

 

• In 2013, Dr Neil Rodrigues of Cardiff University contacted us about his research into Leukaemia. Since that initial contact we have been working with Dr Rodrigues and his team by financially contributing and supporting their research work.

 

Dr Neil Rodrigues

Dr Rodrigues’ aim is to develop a new treatment for AML that is kinder to patients and more targeted, and which will be more effective in increasing survival rates. His research centres around a molecule called GATA-2.

What is GATA-2? GATA-2 is a human gene that produces a protein that is essential for the normal development and function of blood cells from the bone marrow.

Why is Cardiff University the best place to do this research?

Dr Neil Rodrigues is based in the European Cancer Stem Cell Research Institute, a world leader in the field of cancer stem cell research.  Targeting cancer stem cells offers the potential to transform the way we tackle disease because they play a key role in the creation and growth of tumours, and the way they spread around the body.

Building on scientific discoveries with Leukaemia Cancer Society

A few words from Cardiff University:

“Cardiff University are immensely grateful to everyone at Leukaemia Cancer Society for their ongoing support. The funding that you provided has made a huge difference already and Dr Rodrigues is now looking forward to addressing the following research questions.”

• How do leukaemic stem cells grow and behave?
• Why are leukaemic stem cells resistant to treatment?
• How do leukaemic stem cells interfere with the process of making normal blood?
• Could we develop a new treatment?

Dr Rodrigues and his team are committed to finding new and better ways to fight AML. The long term aim will be to translate the research discoveries from the laboratory into clinical trials to develop new AML drugs for patients.”

Dr Linda Papadopoulos – Psychologist

Patron of the Leukaemia Cancer Society

“The work that the Leukaemia Cancer Society does is genuinely awe inspiring.  Under the guidance of a dedicated team the society has managed to be at the side of families at their darkest times allowing them to access support and resources that they simply would not have access to otherwise.  It is an honour to say I am a supporter of the charity and have no doubt that it will go from strength to strength providing invaluable support to the families that need it most.”

Tonia Buxton  – Cook, Nutritionist, Writer

Friend and Supporter of the Leukaemia Cancer Society

“Every time I have anything to do with the Leukaemia society I am always in awe of and humbled by the unrelenting work, dedication and kindness of the people there.

I support the Leukaemia Cancer Society because of the work they do, raising awareness, getting donors and funds is quite literally ‘life saving’. It is a privilege for me to help wherever I can”

 

Patron of the Leukaemia Cancer Society Professor John Goldstone (left ) with our honorary President Fotini Papadopoulou (centre on a visit to the University College Hospital).

Leukaemia Cancer Society  – WHAT WE DO

We provide practical, medical and emotional support and campaign for better cancer care. Cancer affects us all. We can all help.

We are dedicated to ensuring that more people with leukaemia survive, have the best possible quality of life and that their families and carers get the support they need.

Facing cancer, whether as patient, carer or member of the family, is a life-changing experience.

We work with people as they come to terms with and manage these changes, in particular by providing relevant information and emotional, social and psychological support.

Care and support – We provide complete support for patients and those close to them.

Donor Recruitment – We organise donor recruitment events to enlist potential bone marrow/stem cell donors.

Research – We are Committed to funding Cancer Research of the highest international standard. Working to find ways to diagnose cancer earlier, when treatments are more likely to be successful and to develop new treatments that are more effective and kinder.

Fundraising – We organise fundraising and awareness generating events to help us continue our work and save lives.

Martha D. Lewis – Musical Artist and Eve Polycarou – Singer, Songwriter, Actress. Patrons of the Leukaemia Cancer Society

Martha and Eve quoted

 Martha D Lewis “We are really blown away by the work of the Leukaemia Cancer Society. What they do is incredible and we are honoured to be Patrons of the charity.

We are right behind their Phenomenal work, and are proud to have been able to work beside the charity helping to organise and execute musical events to raise funds and create awareness within our community.”

 Eve Polycarou “The charity has been an incredible part of my life and to people I have loved and lost whom I know have benefited from their work.”

#BloodCancerFacts

• Leukaemia is a cancer of the blood. It is the most common type of childhood cancer in the UK.
• Bloodcancer is the 3^rd biggest cancer killer and claims more lives than breast or prostate cancer.
• Every 14 minutes in the UK, someone is diagnosed with a life-threatening blood cancer like leukaemia.
• 13,000 people lose their lives to blood cancer and related disorders every year in the UK.

For over a quarter of a century, we’ve been helping to save lives through donor recruitment, research and patient care.  We’ve made huge progress but there is still a lot to do, and we can’t do it without your support.

Up Coming Events:

Date and time to be confirmed: Unveiling of Commemorative Bench in Grovelands Park – Honouring all who have fought bravely against Blood Cancer

Saturday 2^nd November 2019: Leukaemia Cancer Society 25^th Anniversary Celebrations.

 

Also under our logo add our contact details:

Leukaemia Cancer Society

118 Myddleton Road

London N22 8NQ

Tel: 020 8374 4821

Email: [email protected]

Web: www.leukaemiacancersociety.org