In January, more than 204,000
\neuros was donated to the Gift of Life Cancer Treatment Foundation. The
\nfoundation council approved the funding of the treatment of 22 people, ten of
\nwhom are receiving the foundation’s support for the first time.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
We also supported many other
\npeople whose decision to treat was made in November-December. All in all the
\nfoundation covered nearly 366,000 euros’ worth of medical bills.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Support
\nfor several mothers<\/b><\/b><\/p>\n
We continue supporting Kristi
\nNatus, a 39-year old mother from Paide, in her fight with a brain tumour.<\/p>\n
The treatment has been good for
\nher \u2013 Kristi is lively and busy, bringing joy to her entire family.<\/p>\n
The Loomisel folk dance group
\ncelebrated its fifth anniversary at the Paide Culture Centre with a charity
\ndance show, where the audience had a chance to make a donation for Kristi, who
\nhas also danced in this ensemble. All in all a valuable 3405 euros was raised.<\/p>\n
See Kristi’s story here<\/u><\/p>\n
Read the J\u00e4rva Teataja<\/i> article here<\/u> <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
In January, we lent a helping hand
\nto Maily Luberg, a young woman fighting acute lymphocytic leukaemia. Her
\nfour-week treatment with a medication named Blincyto costs 57,000 euros.<\/p>\n
This is her last chance and she is
\nthe first Estonian to use that medication.<\/p>\n
Read Maily’s story here<\/u> <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
As from November we are supporting
\nAnu Nahkur, a pianist, experienced piano teacher, mother and grandmother, in
\nher fight with a terrible disease. Her son writes:<\/p>\n
“Mom
\nis doing as well as she can considering her situation and her health is stable,
\nbut the treatment is still ongoing. We believe it’s owing much to the
\nsuper-expensive biological medication Keytruda doctors prescribed her in
\naddition to chemotherapy. Our family was able to finance the first four
\ntreatments. The results of these four treatments showed that the illness had
\nreceded, which was definitely thanks to the new medication. The doctors
\nconfirmed that in order to truly stabilise the situation, treatment must
\ncontinue.<\/i><\/i><\/p>\n
This
\nturned out to be financially difficult. At this point we were given another
\nchance by the Gift of Life foundation. It’s hard to express our gratitude for
\nthe help given using mere words.<\/i><\/i><\/p>\n
We
\nhope mom’s health will completely stabilise and she’ll be able to feel like a
\nhuman being again. Our entire family has been there for mom each and every
\nmoment and it means the world to us that the Gift of Life is here with us,
\ngiving hope for what is to come.<\/i><\/i><\/p>\n
You
\nhave our most sincere gratitude! Our New Year’s wish: may the foundation have
\nstrength to give many more people longer lives.”<\/i><\/i><\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
A
\ngift of hope, a gift of life<\/b><\/b><\/p>\n
We also continue supporting
\n61-year old Jaanus’ fight with pharyngeal cancer. He writes:<\/p>\n
“In
\nMarch 2014 I was diagnosed with pharyngeal cancer, which had already entered
\nstage four. I received chemotherapy and radiation therapy in small intervals
\nuntil August 2017. The side effects became too severe and a decision was made
\nto cease treatment funded by the Health Insurance Fund.<\/i><\/i><\/p>\n
But
\nnot all hope was lost. The Gift of Life Cancer Treatment Foundation lent me a
\nhelping hand and started funding my Keytruda treatment. I have now completed
\nthe first course of treatment and analyses showed that the medication is
\nworking and there were practically no side effects.<\/i><\/i><\/p>\n
Thank
\nyou, cancer treatment foundation, for finding means to fund my next treatment
\nthat is soon to come. What I also consider important is my own optimism and
\ncertainly my family’s support. Many thanks to the benefactors!”<\/i><\/i><\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
We support a 41-year old mother
\nsuffering from an extremely rare sinus cancer. She says:<\/p>\n
“I’ve
\nbeen through three kinds of chemotherapy and none have had the needed effect,
\nneither have they alleviated the symptoms. The most unpleasant and inconvenient
\nsymptom is neuralgia of the right side of the face. I also have greatly swollen
\nlymph nodes in the right side of my neck. The treating physician suggested a
\ngenetic study of tissue samples in the US to find out the best medication. The
\nstudy suggested two medications that could improve and maintain my condition. One
\nmonth’s worth of the needed medication costs more than 3000 euros and is not
\ncovered by the Health Insurance Fund. Our family could not afford such sums. I’m
\nreally grateful to the Gift of Life Cancer Treatment Foundation for their positive
\nanswer. All the supporters have my greatest and most sincere gratitude.”<\/i><\/i><\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
We are also supporting 80-year old
\ngrandpa Arvo’s fight with gastric cancer. His daughter writes:<\/p>\n
“Dad
\nhad to undergo oesophageal surgery in July 2016 and during the surgery they
\nfound advanced cancer. Thus, they had to remove his stomach. It took him quite
\na while to recover from this difficult surgery. Roughly six months after the
\nsurgery you could see he had become the same person he was before surgery:
\nlevel-headed but active. The treatment described by the doctor was effective \u2013
\nhe regained his strength and will. Summer 2017 was truly positive. The analyses
\nshowed everything was going great. But it all changed in autumn. Dad complained
\nthat his stomach was aching at times, he stopped gaining weight and started
\nlosing it instead and his analysis results dropped. About a month ago his
\ntreating physician told us that they had tried all the medications supported by
\nthe Health Insurance Fund and there would be no point in continuing treatment
\nusing these. Our world fell apart … everything had seemed to go well. So
\nwhat’s next? Do they just send me home to die? Dad asked. He is an active old
\ngentleman \u2013 willing and entrepreneurial. How come there was no treatment? If
\nyou take someone’s hope and tell them there’s nothing left to do, then no
\nmatter how optimistic you are, your spirit will falter. The treating physician
\nsuggested a medication that was not supported by the Health Insurance fund, but
\nmay help Dad. We couldn’t have afforded the medication. Thus we made an
\napplication to the Gift of Life foundation. Our two nerve-wracking weeks ended
\nin positive news: the foundation agreed to fund Dad’s medication. We are truly
\nhappy and grateful. For us it means that Dad has some extra time to recover. A
\nchance to battle cancer and defeat it.”<\/i><\/i><\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
At the end of the year we started
\nfunding prostate cancer treatment of 67-year old Jaan. His wife says:<\/p>\n
“Big
\nthanks to the Gift of Life and all the donors. Jaan has been suffering from
\nprostate cancer for ten years. He has undergone chemotherapy and radiation
\ntherapy several times. In summer he developed acute cystitis. He spent three
\nweeks in a hospital. There he developed partial gluteal and thigh muscles
\nparalysis as a result of which he now has to use a rollator to move around. He
\nalso has strong pain in his ilium, as metastases have spread there. New
\ntreatment supported by the cancer treatment foundation started on 18 January. It
\nmay sound unbelievable, but Jaan immediately felt better. It has been only a
\nfew days, but he can stand 10-20 seconds at a time several times a day and even
\ntake four or five steps. It’s a huge improvement! He exercises every day using
\na resistance band, but we have also ordered a stationary bicycle. He
\nexperiences considerably less pain in his ilium. Hopefully he can soon lower
\nthe dose of his super-strong analgesics. We are all grateful and happy. Thank
\nyou so much Dr Helis Pokker and Dr Malle Paris. We have also donated to the
\ncancer treatment foundation and will continue to do so. We wish you good luck,
\nhealth and, of course, lots of money!”<\/i><\/i><\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
100
\nappreciation plaques for companies<\/b><\/b><\/p>\n
In January, we sent nearly hundred
\nappreciation plaques to companies that supported cancer patients with at least
\n1000 euros in 2017. The plaque says that thanks to the donation people can
\nspend more valuable time with their loved ones. For them, every new day is a
\nday worth celebrating.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
In January, we raised donations
\nall over Estonia during Vanemuine Theatre’s concert tour Memory 2018, basketball
\ngame in Tartu and Estonian Music Awards event at the Saku Suurhall Arena.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Help service employees of Eesti
\nEnergia energy company donated 435 euros to cancer patients.<\/p>\n
<\/b><\/p>\n
Interviews
\nand articles<\/b><\/b><\/p>\n
Toivo T\u00e4navsuu talked about the
\ncancer treatment foundation’s work on the T\u00e4na+<\/i>
\nprogramme in Tallinna TV on 4 January.<\/p>\n