Help Cancer Patients Access Medications!

In the last few months, we focused on supporting patients with adrenal cancer.  The medication for this type of cancer, mitotane, has been in use for many years, but after the breakup of Soviet Union, Russia stopped producing it.   We have been purchasing mitotane in Canada for 25 Russian patients this year.  In addition to mitotane, there are other medications that are not available in Russia.  Often, they are new and effective drugs that are available in the US, Europe and other developed countries.

This month, our goal is to raise funds to support Andrei, a young man from Moscow, who underwent bone marrow transplantation two years ago.  Unfortunately, in August he was diagnosed with relapse of leukemia that is resistant to commonly used medications.  Andrei was recommended a new drug, ponatinib, which targets the rare mutation that Andrei has.  However, ponatinib is not registered in Russia and has to be purchased abroad.  The medication is very expensive and Andrei's young family cannot afford it.  We hope that next week you can join our efforts to help Andrei access this medication!

Please mark your calendars for Thursday’s Bonus Day on October 5th! On this day, $50,000 Incentive Fund will be available to share by all donations received that day. Our share will be determined by what percentage of the total funds we raise on Bonus Day.   For example, if we raise 5% of the total dollars raised on Bonus Day, we will be awarded 5% – or $2,500 – of the Incentive Fund. This means that donations will count throughout the entire day!  No rush to donate the minute the contest opens!  But keep in mind the hours - Bonus Day begins at 9:00:01 EDT on Thursday (16:00 Moscow time), October 5th, 2017, and ends at 23:59:59 EDT on October 5th, 2017.

 Many thanks from our team,

Thank you so much for supporting our project!  We have raised nearly $5,000 to date to help patients who cannot afford life-saving medications.  These are usually newer and more effective medications that are not manufactured or sold in Russia and have to be ordered abroad.

One of the patients we supported recently is Alexander from Rostov region.  When he was six months old, he was diagnosed with an abdominal tumor.  However, local doctors did not recommend starting treatment untili he turned a year old.  By then, the tumor spread all over his body.  Alexander had chemotherapy and surgery to remove the tumor, and then he was referred to St. Petersburg for transplantation of his own stem cells.  The procedure required medications that were not available in the city, and Alexander's family requested help.  We paid for the required medicine to be shipped from Germany, and in May 2017 Alexander underwent transplantation.  He will now be monitored closely to prevent disease recurrence.

We are very grateful for your support and helping us be in the position to support patients like Alexander!  On Wednesday, July 12th, GlobalGiving will offer bonus funds as part of GG Rewards Bonus Day.  This is the only time during the year that all donations up to $1,000 will be matched at 50% (while the $110,000 in matching funds remain). Also, all day long there will be a 100% match on new recurring donations and, at the end of Bonus Day, the projects with the most funds raised and the most donors secured will each receive a $1,000 bonus prize. Additional prizes include social media promotion, homepage time, and a feature in GlobalGiving donor newsletter.

Join us from 9am EDT (16:00 Moscow time) to 11:59pm EDT on July 12th and make sure to donate early to get the 50% match! 

Gratefully,

Advita USA team