Friends of Rosie and The Bradley Lowery Foundation are working together on a promising, new research collaboration for children with cancer.
The two children’s charities unite to boost research into childhood cancer. In 2021, they will be partnering to fund new research into the detection and treatment of a rare type of childhood bone cancer, called Ewing Sarcoma.
The project will be led by Professor Caroline Dive, Director of the Cancer Research UK Manchester Institute at The University of Manchester, and Dr Martin McCabe, Clinical Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health at The University of Manchester.
Says Friends of Rosie Chair, Felicity Goodey, “Children’s cancer research gets less funding than almost any other type of cancer. Yet, treatments can leave growing bodies with horrific lifelong problems and cures are still rare. Partnerships like this are essential to get more funding focused on childhood cancer research and put it in the spotlight.
“We’re proud to be collaborating with The Bradley Lowery Foundation and using our individual strengths for the shared goal of improving outcomes for children with cancer.”
Gemma Lowery, founder of The Bradley Lowery Foundation comments, “We are pleased to be collaborating with Friends of Rosie in a joint venture to fund vital research into Ewing Sarcoma. Early research is extremely important, but funding is hard to find. By collaborating with other charities like Friends of Rosie, early research can get the vital funding it needs. We believe working with charities who specialise in different childhood cancers is the best way to get more funds into the research needed.”
Read Mahesh’s story to hear about his treatment for Ewing Sarcoma as a boy of eight years old. And then again as an adult when he relapsed at the age of 21.
About Ewing Sarcoma
Ewing Sarcoma is a type of bone cancer that most commonly effects children and teenagers. It is diagnosed using an X-ray, CT, or MRI scan, and taking a biopsy of the tumour or the bone marrow. In 25% of patients, the cancer will have already spread to other parts of the body before being diagnosed. It also has a high instance of recurrence within two years of diagnosis and survival post-recurrence is dismal at a mere 10-15%.
This project, starting in June 2021, will investigate using a blood sample to discover more about the tumour instead of taking an invasive tissue or tumour biopsy. This would be a far less aggressive procedure for children and could enable the earlier detection of relapse, as well as the improved monitoring of tumour response during treatment.
The jointly funded project will run for one year, starting in the spring, at a cost of £75,000. Friends of Rosie will be funding 80% of the project, with The Bradley Lowery Foundation funding 20% of the research costs.
About The Bradley Lowery Foundation
The Bradley Lowery Foundation was established in August 2017 after six-year-old Bradley Lowery, lost his fight to Stage 4 High Risk Neuroblastoma, a rare and aggressive form of childhood cancer.
In 2013, his mum, Gemma, started a fundraising campaign to raise funds to get Bradley treatment in the USA, which was not available in the UK. The campaign was very successful and with the support off thousands of people, raised over £1.3m, as well as vital awareness for Neuroblastoma and childhood cancer in general. And these donations, provided the funding base for the charity.
The Bradley Lowery Foundation aims to support families who are fundraising for treatment or equipment, which is not readily available or covered by the NHS. This includes all illnesses and conditions.
