Welcome to the July edition of the makeabigdifference newsletter; your one stop shop for all the latest charity fundraising and cancer news.

Kick starting this mid-year edition we take a look at the great British pudding causing a stir amongst health professionals with our column ‘Beat cancer with nutrition’.

We all know exercise is generally good for you right? But did you know that by being physically active, you can reduce the risk of breast, bowel and womb cancer? Read on to find out why.

Whilst on the subject of exercise; over the last few weeks I have been scouring the country for different sporting events which our supporters may find of interest. Whether you’re a novice runner, seasoned trekker, avid cyclist or an adrenaline junky there’s an event to suit everyone.

A couple of years ago I did a skydive for Young Heroes and I cannot begin to tell you the sense of achievement I felt; not only by challenging my fear of heights but by knowing I was making a difference to the life of a young person with cancer.

Willingly jumping out of an aeroplane at 15,000 ft is not easy by any means but the hardest decision was pushing myself to book and commit to doing the skydive; once I had though, I spent the next 6 weeks promoting my big event and getting sponsorship in. Time flew and before I knew it I literally was too!

Whilst skydiving is not everybody’s cup of tea, there may be something that catches your eye in our new monthly article ‘Charity Challenge’; where I will hand pick a handful of sporty events, up and down the country, everything from trekking across Hadrian’s Wall to the ultimate London triathlon.

There’s also the usual monthly favourites including Latest cancer news, Fundraising idea of the month and Katie’s Corner.

Until next month, enjoy!

Kim Doran

Editor

Beating cancer with nutrition

Rhubarb crumble – the new cancer-busting superfood

Researchers have found that the traditional family favourite, like many red vegetables, contains cancer killing chemicals. More surprising baking the plant for 20 minutes – like in a crumble or pie – dramatically increases their concentration.

Now it is hoped that extracting the substances from the plant could come up with new drug treatments for cancers such as leukaemia.

The findings showed the chemicals, called polyphenols, could kill or prevent the growth of cancer cells and could be used to develop new, less toxic, treatments for the disease.

It could even be used in cases where cancers had proved resistant to other treatments.

The study, by Sheffield Hallam University, is the first time the benefits of British garden rhubarb, specifically a variety grown in south Yorkshire, have been studied. Previous research focused on Oriental medicinal rhubarb, which has been recognised for its health benefits and used in traditional Chinese medicine for thousands of years.

Academics now hope to discover the best combination of rhubarb’s polyphenols and chemotherapy agents needed to kill leukaemia cells.

Dr Nikki Jordan-Mahy, of Sheffield Hallam University’s biomedical research centre, said: “Our research has shown that British rhubarb is a potential source of chemicals that may be used to develop new anti-cancerous drugs.

“Rhubarb has been shown to have some very interesting polyphenols that have anti-cancerous properties. Eating a nice crumble will be good for you.

“But if we can extract the polyphenols they may be useful in helping to fight cancer along with chemotherapy.

“Current treatments are not effective in all cancers and resistance is a common problem as is toxicity.

“Cancer affects one in three individuals in the UK, so it’s very important to discover novel, less toxic, treatments, which can overcome resistance.”

The research, jointly carried out by the Scottish Crop Research Institute, is published in the journal Food Chemistry.

Traditional Rhubarb Crumble

Rhubarb Crumble is one of the easiest and quickest puddings to make; you don’t even have to pre-cook the rhubarb – just put everything into an ovenproof dish and let the oven do the rest.

Follow our simple and homely recipe to help keep cancer at bay.

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 1 hour, 15 minutes

Yield: Serves 4

Ingredients:

12 stalks of fresh rhubarb, washed, cut into 5cm/ 2″ pieces
4 tbsp water
8 tbsp demerara sugar
110g/ 4oz butter, cut into small cubes
110g/ 4 oz fine sugar
180g/6oz plain flour

Preparation:

Heat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.
Place the rhubarb, water and sugar into a 4cm/1½in deep ovenproof dish.
In a baking bowl rub the butter, sugar and flour together until it resembles fine sand, then sprinkle over the rhubarb.
Bake in the oven until light brown on the surface, approx 45mins – 1 hour.
Serve piping hot from the oven with custard or ice cream
Enjoy!

LATEST CANCER NEWS

‘Stage set’ for large trials to widen leukaemia and lymphoma donor pool

Two new US clinical trials suggest more patients with leukaemia and lymphoma could benefit from bone marrow transplants if half-matched bone marrow or unrelated umbilical cord blood were used.

A donor’s tissue usually has to be a full match with the recipient’s tissue in order for a transplant to go ahead.

This means that many patients who need a transplant are unable to find a suitable donor.

But two new phase-II trials suggest that a donor’s tissue need not fully match that of the recipient for a transplant to be successful.

More research is needed, as these were relatively small studies, but the findings suggest that many more patients who need this type of transplant could be able to find a suitable donor in the future.

In the latest clinical trials, researchers from the Blood and Marrow Transplant Clinical Trials Network in the US tested the viability of 50 half-matched or ‘haploidentical’ bone marrow transplants and 50 unrelated cord blood transplants in adults with advanced leukaemia or lymphoma.

They found that 54 per cent of cord blood transplant recipients were still alive after one year and 46 per cent showed no signs of disease progression.

Meanwhile, 64 per cent of patients who received half-matched bone marrow survived for at least one year, and 48 per cent had no disease progression.

According to the researchers, whose findings are published in Blood journal, these survival rates are similar to those seen in patients who receive fully matched donor tissue.

None of the participants developed severe graft versus host disease (GVHD), which can occur if the donor’s immune cells start to attack the patient’s own healthy tissues.

This was particularly noteworthy considering half of the patients involved in the trials were 50 or older – an important risk factor for GVHD.

Dr Ephraim Fuchs, a bone marrow transplant expert and professor of oncology at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Centre in the US, welcomed the findings.

He pointed out: “Ten years ago, it was unthinkable to do a haploidentical transplant.”

The researchers are now planning a four-year clinical trial involving 380 patients, which should begin later this year or in early 2012.

Sourced from http://info.cancerresearchuk.org

Young Heroes needs you!

The People newspapers ‘Man of The People’ fund is back with a whopping £40,000 donation to be shared amongst 4 lucky charities.

For the past 44 years the MoP fund has been proudly helping hundreds of good causes up and down Britain. Now we think it’s our turn but we need you, our loyal supporters to help.

If you’re as passionate about Young Heroes as we are, please nominate us for this amazing opportunity!

You have one month to send a letter or email to The People explaining why you think Young Heroes deserves a fantastic cash donation and what it would do with the money.

You can be a charity supporter, a client, a volunteer, a member of staff or just a person touched by efforts of our charity.

By voting for Young Heroes, you are not just nominating us for a charitable donation, you are

doing so much more…..you are highlighting our charity and the challenges faced by young people and their families who have or are currently being affected by cancer.

For more information please visit the following link:

http://www.people.co.uk/news/uk-world-news/2011/07/17/man-of-the-people-102039-23275993/

Thank you.

Fundraising idea of the month

Murder mystery parties – A killer fundraiser

Are you looking for the ultimate fun-draiser? Then why not host a murder mystery party where your guests will be immersed in an evening of treachery, murder, blackmail, intrigue and back stabbing.

Not only is a murder mystery party great fun, but its a fantastic opportunity to raise funds for Young Heroes.

So just how can you turn a Murder Mystery Party into a fundraiser?

Here we go . . .

1. Figure out the logistics of the party you’ll be holding. How many people would you expect? Where will you hold it? In someone’s home, in a rental hall, a restaurant, etc.? Will the meal be catered or prepared by friends / volunteers?

2. Decide on a theme for your party. Which theme would your guests most enjoy?

Below are a few such ideas.

T’was the death before Christmas

Death at the Distillery

Mardi Gras masquerade murder

Mayhem at the Movies

Midnight malice

The mama mia murder

A corporate murder

Another one bites the dust

A killer reunion.

3. Set the date.

4. Create a budget for the event. Outline all of the expenses: game cost, food, other rentals, prizes etc. The expenses should equal 30% or less of the total funds raised.

5. Based on the expected cost of the event, set a ticket price. Remember that guests will know that this is a charitable event. Plus, this is also more that just a dinner, it’s a party! Most will be willing to pay higher than they normally would for just dinner at a restaurant.

When setting ticket prices, also think about what will be included in the ticket. Do you want to have a cash bar separate? Is the dessert extra? Will there be a silent auction? These ‘extras’ could boost the funds raised for Young Heroes and effect the price that you want to charge for the entry ticket.

6. Finally, plan all the details that into a party…decorations, invitations, tickets, costumes. This is the fun part, be creative! Get RSVPs from your invitees and call everyone to remind them about the event.

7. Enjoy your dinner and murder mystery party!

One in four teenage cancer patients visit GPs Four times before seeing a specialist

A quarter of young people with cancer had to see their GP at least four times before finally being diagnosed by a specialist, experts have revealed.

Many were told they were simply suffering from growing pains, asthma or even faking their illness to skip school. A third were only referred to a specialist after their symptoms became so severe they went to A&E.

One in five sufferers aged 13 to 24 was never referred by their GP, even though they showed common signs of cancer such as weight loss, lumps or excruciating pain.

The findings by the Teenage Cancer Trust charity highlight how many patients in the early stages of cancer are being wrongly diagnosed by their family doctors, a delay that experts say costs thousands of lives.

As tumours are so rare in children, GPs often assume symptoms including tiredness, a sore throat or headache are harmless and will go away without treatment.

However, Britain has one of Europe’s worst cancer survival rates and experts claim 10,000 lives a year could be saved if diagnosis and treatment matched standards in France, Germany and Scandinavia.

Six out of 10 young people questioned felt their diagnosis could have been made quicker. Such delays significantly increase the stress and anxiety young people experience and in some cases they can affect their chances of survival.

The latest report, based on a survey of 400 patients, found 24 per cent were only sent to a cancer specialist after seeing their GP four times. Seventy per cent felt they had to wait too long for tests and hospital appointments and 61 per cent believed they could have been diagnosed sooner.
Sourced from: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article

Physical activity, exercise and cancer

By being physically active, you can reduce the risk of breast, bowel and womb cancer. Keeping active could help to prevent thousands of cases of cancer in the UK every year.

Just 30 minutes of moderate activity a day, five days a week, can have a positive effect on your health. And the more active you are, the more you can reduce your risk of cancer.

Moderate activity doesn’t have to cost you money or too much time. It includes anything that leaves you warm and slightly out of breath, such as brisk walking, gardening, dancing or housework.

Even small bits of activity are beneficial, and can add up over the course of a day. It sounds like a cliché, but you can increase the amount of activity you do by making small changes like taking the stairs instead of the lift, or walking some of the way to work, school or the shops. Even if you have been inactive for years, becoming more active now will have a positive effect on your health.

Sourced from: http://info.cancerresearchuk.org

Sports Challenge 2011

As part of our summer fundraising drive we are asking supporters up and the country to take part in a range of events and activities to help us raise precious funds for young people affected by cancer.

Each month we will hand pick a selection of sporting events; so whether you are a beginner, seasoned athlete or general thrill-seeker there is an event for you.

Young Heroes Text Donation Service

In last months newsletter we spoke of an exciting new service Young Heroes have launched. TextGiving allows you to raise money using text messages, with every penny donated going to Young Heroes to directly benefit the young people we support.

For those new to the facility here is how it works;

1) Write one of the following text codes into the main body of your text

MABD01 £1 (use this code will donate £1 to Young Heroes)

MABD01 £2 (use this code will donate £2 to Young Heroes)

MABD01 £3 (use this code will donate £3 to Young Heroes)

MABD01 £4 (use this code will donate £4 to Young Heroes)

MABD01 £5 (use this code will donate £4 to Young Heroes)

MABD01 £10 (use this code to donate £10 to Young Heroes)

Our charity’s code and the amount you wish to donate.

2) Send a text to 70070
Include your charity’s code and an amount (for example CHAR17 £10)

3) You’ll receive a text with a link
to a Gift Aid form.
If you’re a UK tax payer, your charity benefits from a 25% boost to your donation

Why use TextGiving?

1) The charity gets every penny

This is a free service so no admin fees are taken

2) It’s free to take part

All text messages are free on all networks (except for the cost of the donation sent)

3) Easy and quick

Simply send a text and give up to £10 using your Impact Young Heroes unique six-digit code.

Please support us by using our text donation service.