Please buy a ticket or donate online to this amazing initiative, and make a life-saving difference to children with eye cancer TODAY.
www.irdaisyfund.com/draw.php

Retinoblastoma: a global view

Retinoblastoma is the most common eye cancer in children, affecting approximately 1 in 20,000. Left untreated, Retinoblastoma will cause death, and blindness, if therapy is unsuccessful or delayed. However, advances in oncology have led to a cure rate of over 97% in developed countries such as Canada the USA and UK.

An estimated 9,000 children are diagnosed with retinoblastoma each year around the world. However, only 10% of affected children have access to essential life and sight saving health care. In contrast to the success stories in Canada, the vast majority of children with retinoblastoma in developing nations will die from this cancer.

36% of India's 1billion inhabitants are aged under 15 years, and the country has a birth rate 2.5 times that of Canada. Consequently, the country shoulders an enormous burden of approximately 1,500 new retinoblastoma cases each year (almost 17% of global diagnoses). In Contrast, just 23 new cases emerge each year in Canada, and 45 in the UK. The cancer is responsible for over 5% of the blindness among children in India, and blindness is a huge disability in a country where independence and self-sufficiency are often essential for day-to-day survival.

Reason to Hope

However, there is hope for India's retinoblastoma children. The retinoblastoma team at Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children (Sick Kids) is partnering with Sankara Nethralaya Eye Hospital (Ophthalmology) and the Apollo Specialty Hospital(Oncology) in Chennai, south East India, to test a new chemotherapy protocol that was developed by Dr. Helen Chan (Oncology) and Dr Brenda Gallie (Ophthalmology) at Sick Kids. The treatment has proven to be effective for this devastating cancer, and is now used as standard care in Canada. Children from countries such as Vietnam, Botswana, England, Germany and Australia have also come to Toronto for this treatment.

The partnership between Sick Kids and these two Chennai hospitals will be of benefit to children around the world. Children in India will have access to the same world-class retinoblastoma therapy offered to Canadian children, but the clinical trial will also be able to advance more effectively, though the inclusion of greater numbers of children. Results of this trial - the first Retinoblastoma trial anywhere in the world - will help to advance understanding of the cancer's response to treatment, essential for the improvement of care for all children with retinoblastoma.

However, cancer treatment is not free in India. The medications given to the children as part of this project are extremely expensive. Some are anti-cancer drugs, whilst others decrease the side-effects. In a country where 44% of the population exists on less than US$1 per day, many families may not be able to begin or complete the treatment, due to financial constraints.

With the correct treatment in the hands of experienced Ophthalmologists and Oncologists, and appropriate follow-up for both eyes, retinoblastoma patients have a very good chance of living a long, full, and happy life. Access to quality health care is a basic human right, yet the vast majority of children affected by retinoblastoma will die due to lack of access to appropriate care.

Vision for Life

To help establish, support and advance care for children with Retinoblastoma around the world, and to finance these essential programs, the International Retinoblastoma Daisy Fund (IRDF) was launched in late 2004 by small group of concerned medics, parents and survivors. The Fund is named after a little girl from the UK, who received treatment at Sick Kids. The IRDF is a special fund within the Charitable Foundation of Sick Kids Hospital, and also an independent UK Charity (registered charity #: 111-11-33).

At present, this Fund is working on the India project, helping to set up the treatment regimen that has been used at Sick Kids for many years. Please visit the following link for further information about the project:
http://www.irdaisyfund.com/india.php

Our current fundraising initiative is the raffle of an all inclusive Caribbean holiday for two. Tickets cost $25.00 and can be bought online from a secure web browser. As flights will originate from the winner's country of residence, this is truly an exciting International venture - just like the project it exists to supports.

Donations to the Canadian IRDF can also be made online through the Sick Kids Hospital website, by clicking on the Donate Now button within the IRDF site. Tax receipts will be issued by email for every donation.
Visit www.irdaisyfund.com/donate_now.php for more information.

Gift Aided tax efficient donations can also be made by UK tax payers through JustGiving.com.
Please visit www.irdaisyfund.org/Donate for more details.

Please buy a ticket or donate online to this amazing initiative, and make a life-saving difference to children with eye cancer TODAY.
www.irdaisyfund.com/draw.php