RAISING MONEY FOR CANCER TREATMENT & RESEARCH TRUST (CTRT) … INCREASING AWARENESS OF MOLAR PREGNANCIES … 25 GIRLS 'BARING ALL' …1 TOP PHOTOGRAPHER … HUGE PR !

Companies, families and individuals are invited to sponsor the calendar.

It's quick and easy to do…

£500 to sponsor a ‘tastefully naked photo’

£250 to sponsor a ‘Month’

£100 to sponsor a ‘Week’ (click 'read more' icon below for more info!)

£50 to sponsor a ‘Day’

All other donations are of course more than welcome

 

Thank you so much for your support

Having had a molar pregnancy I know this cause is extremely worth while and am happy to be able to help my friend Charlotte in raising money for it. Fortunately for me my molar pregnancy did not result in chemotherapy treatment but unfortunately there are many like Charlotte that have... please read on to find out about the charity and Charlotte's story. xxxxxx

BACKGROUND

So what is a Molar Pregnancy? – a rare condition that arises during pregnancy and causes pre cancerous cells to develop in the womb. Usually after a person miscarries the body naturally rids itself of these cells, but in other cases a cancerous tumour develops, which if not treated quickly enough can spread to other parts of the body. This condition is not hereditary and is completely random. The cause of it is still not fully understood. Although rare, the frightening thing is it could happen to anyone and at any age – whether it be your first, second or third pregnancy.

What Exactly will the money raised go towards?

The Medical Oncology Department at Charing Cross Hospital, have a specialized team who monitor and treat ‘Molar Pregnancies’. They are pioneering for special technology that would allow them to diagnose, much sooner that currently possible, whether or not cells will remain benign or turn cancerous. The equipment costs £2million but as with any form of cancer, time is of the essence. This would make the most enormous difference and hopefully enable any future patients to get back to ‘normal’ life far sooner.

 

How the campaign began … a note from ‘Charlotte’

“Last year I suffered from something that at the time, I had never heard of - a ‘Molar Pregnancy’. I sadly miscarried, but it’s what transpired after this that has now changed my life forever. My remaining cells from the miscarriage developed into a cancerous tumour and I had to go through 9 painfully traumatic months of intensive chemotherapy to beat this. To go from one of the most beautiful moments in life, to the despair of miscarriage to then discovering you have a critical illness, is certainly the most challenging thing I’ve ever had to deal with. Thankfully my luck changed and in April of this year I was given the ‘all clear’. Only now am I beginning to get my life back – although it’s still far from easy. Having been through this, I’m incredibly passionate about helping anyone else who will unfortunately have to go through the same experience as me. I’ve begun a ‘national fundraising campaign’ and contacted all other people within the UK who have had ‘molar pregnancies’ with the aim of us collectively reaching our £2m goal. The ‘2012 Calendar’ is my first personal fundraising initiative. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE, make this worth our while, and even if you don’t want to see us ‘baring’ all (!) dig deep to help us raise our first £10,000 target.

The Campaign

As well as numerous sponsorship opportunities, we are generating a lot of PR and have already gathered interest from national newspapers and magazines, with The Times already confirming that they will run a story! We’re also incredibly fortunate, as top photographer, ‘Chris Dunlop’, who regularly works for the likes of Vanity Fair and Vogue has agreed to shoot this!

Please email lucyjpearl@hotmail.com should you have any queries.

For more information on ‘Molar Pregnancies’ and the work of Charing Cross Hospital visit http://www.hmole-chorio.org.uk