Let's Help More Than 100 Children with Cancer

This is the season to be thankful. So, we are very grateful for your care and decision to contribute to the activities of the Childhood Cancer Fund Rugute and thus extend a friendly helping hand to children on the path of oncological illness. Recent years have been one of the most intense in the entire life of the Rugute Fund. The ongoing pandemic has become a major test for the families of children who are on the path of illness as well as for doctors and for us. After all, the treatment of children must continue even at a time when many things in the world have stopped. Thanks to you, in September, October and November, the “Let's Help Children With Cancer“ project received 24,891 USD (21,320 EUR) in support. Knowing that we are not alone in the most important struggle in a child’s life inspires us to keep believing in recovery and going forward with all our might.

We are sincerely grateful that with your support we have been able to provide:

• 11000.00 EUR - financial support for families. With these funds, families caring for a child with oncological illness were able to pay for nursing equipment, food, and hospital travel expenses.

• 893.58 EUR – for buying a central venous catheter (4 pcs.). For 13 years, the Fund has continued to taking care of the emotional and psychological well-being of the little patients during treatment by supplying hospitals with long-term central venous catheters. These catheters ease the procedure of administering drugs to little children, allowing them to avoid pain.

• 926.74 EUR - oral care products Caphosol® (10 pcs.) These solutions help the little patients to get over the most common side effect of chemotherapy - mouth ulcers that are known to worsen both physical and psychological condition of a sick child. Thanks to these solutions, children are able to eat without suffering too much pain.

• 2234.51 EUR – special pillows, which are necessary to prevent bedsores in children with severe conditions and mandatory bed rest.

• 1,056.27 EUR for nursing care products: adhesive bandages that are breathable, do not cause allergic reactions and are easy to remove from the skin.

• 870.00 EUR - for the Vilnius Children's Hospital Oncohematology Center to buy folding screens that would allow patients to separate from each other and give each other privacy.

• 2736.00 EUR – for buying a hearing aid for Bazile. Bazile is one of the few children who were not destined to take a deep breath after remission was reached. After overcoming the worst - oncological - illness, the girl was accompanied by other complications. One of them is hearing loss.

• 9,075.00 EUR - we paid for genetic testing of 3 children. The genetic screening and testing of young cancer patients in one of the most modern laboratories of Europe is a continued project, launched by the Fund in 2015. Its’ aim is to help Lithuanian doctors to detect the histology of the tumor, to foresee the progress of the disease and to individualize the treatment.

• 2,436.5 EUR - we contributed to the fulfillment of Meda's dream, by purchasing a computer.

• 6044,35 EUR for the maintenance of Rugute's Home. For the past three months, the fund was covering the maintenance costs of Rugute's Home - the rented premises (200 m2) with two bedrooms, a kitchen, two bathrooms and a cozy area for games, resting and meetings, and a small yard, not far from the Vilnius Children's Hospital. Having found a shelter in these premises, children with oncological illnesses are able to have a break from their treatment and from being in the hospital. Rugute’s Home also allows their family members to get a temporary accommodation while visiting children in the hospital.

 Looking back over the whole year, we feel gratitude in our hearts. Thank you for being with us and being those much-needed pillars of support. In these times when nothing is assured, we are happy to be sure there are people around us who support and help us. The care and love you send help pave the way towards hope for the little patients. Everything for at least one day when it hurts less and the sadness goes away. Thank you for your kindness and we wish you a hopeful, never-backing-down, full of love New Year.