Helping fight cancer

When those you care about need your help you have to act, it is simple. We have to raise the money for Lydia we don't have a choice, she is our friend and we love her.

What became clear as soon as began this is there are a lot of wider issues that need to be addressed to;

• the provision of cancer treatment in Uganda;
• teaching people about the early warning signs for cancer; and
• care and support through out the treatment for those suffering.

As well as helping Lydia we are determined to work to addresss some of these issues as well, working with local partners and others already engaged in these issues to make a difference. There is a lot of work to do, but together and with the help of friend, family and anyone else interested in this important topic we can.

Lydia's story

At the start of April 2009, Lydia was diagnosed with breast cancer. She was breastfeeding Jemima, her second child, at the time and it came as a huge shock. She had just set up a small business, alongside her lecturing job at university, and was looking forward to the future with her family.

My friend Cathryn and I first met Lydia almost ten years ago when we were teaching in Uganda and we became close friends. Lydia has stayed with our families in the UK and we went back to Uganda for her wedding. When we heard about her condition our reactions were instant and unanimous - we would do whatever was needed to support Lydia and help her get treatment.

As we learned more about the condition it became clear that the cancer was very aggressive and that the best hope was a relatively new drug, Herceptin. The drug is very expensive and has been surrounded by controversy in the UK due to its dramatic results and the slow reaction of the authorities to make it available for free on the NHS.

The cost of Herceptin in Uganda is the same as in the UK, despite the average wage in Uganda being little over £1,000 (GBP) a year. The recommended 18 month course of treatment costs approximately £30,000 for the drug alone - which means we need to do some serious fundraising!

There are a large number of charities to help people with cancer and to help people in Africa (particularly with AIDS), but there is very little help or advice available for people with cancer in Africa. We decided to set up this blog to share things we learn during the fundraising and Lydia's cancer treatment.

You can find out more about Lydia's story and our fundraising plans on our Breast cancer in Africa squidoo page.