Help fight cancer by supporting the Sunflower Fund

CANCER affects millions of people, and the statistics speak for themselves with just under 1.5-million new cases of blood cancer recorded worldwide in 2018, according to a special report by Discovery Health.

In South Africa, cancer-related deaths exceed those of HIV/Aids, tuberculosis and malaria combined.

ALSO READ : Please support Sunflower Day campaign

“Even more staggering is the fact that leukaemia tops the list of top five cancers in terms of cost, at R281 455 per case on average,” said Kim Webster, head of communications at The Sunflower Fund.

Whilst it is good to shine the spotlight on these statistics to raise awareness, The Sunflower Fund wants to use Bone Marrow Stem Cell Donation and Leukaemia Awareness month to remind South Africans that they can actually do something to change these statistics.

The Sunflower Fund initiated its annual Sunflower Day campaign 16 years ago to get people involved in the fight against blood diseases.

The campaign, which is anchored by the sale of the Tube of Hope (Tope), a multi-purpose accessory, is aimed at raising funds for the recruitment of blood stem cell donors to give the hope of cure to patients diagnosed with life-threatening blood diseases like leukaemia and who are in need of a life-saving stem cell transplant.

A patient in need of a transplant needs a genetically matching donor.

There is only a 25 percent chance that a sibling will be a match. The remaining 75 percent chance depends on finding an unrelated matching donor.

The best chance of finding this match is someone from the same ethnic background as the patient.

As such, South Africa needs an ethnically-diverse registry of committed donors.

The Sunflower Fund pays for the cost of the DNA test to register a donor, which costs R3100 per donor. All funds raised through the Sunflower Day campaign go towards these costs.

Sunflower Day will be commemorated on Friday, September 20. Topes will be on sale from August 1, retailing for R30 at Pick ‘n Pay stores nationwide, selected independent pharmacies and online at Zando (while stocks last).

The design is inspired by the coming together of various African cultures, bringing hope of finding their life-saving match to patients in need of a stem cell transplant.

The Tope comes in six vibrant colours, each symbolising hope and depicting ‘HopeTags’.

“Hope tags are a series of hashtags that will be used throughout the campaign as labels that unite and empower us rather than the divisive labels that society has become accustomed to,” says Kim Webster, head of communications at The Sunflower Fund.

Get your favourite hope tag colour and make a statement in support of individuals with blood diseases.

What’s your #HopeTag?

Blue – Confident

Pink – Courageous

Yellow – Optimistic

Purple – Selfless

Green – Strong

Orange – Brave

“In addition to buying a Tope, we encourage those aged between 18 and 45 years, with a consistent weight of more than 50kgs and a BMI of less than 40 to contact us and register as donors,” Ms Webster added.

To partner with The Sunflower Fund as a host for a Sunflower Day celebration event, to make a donation or to set up an awareness talk and donor drive at your organisation, contact Traci Sassenberg at 021-7010661 or traci@sunflowerfund.org.

For more information about The Sunflower Fund or to become a donor visit www.sunflowerfund.org, contact 0800 12 10 82 or send a WhatsApp message to 074-7150212.

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