Technology enabled us to kick off September in the best possible way! On Monday September 1st we organised an online presentation of our grant for the project in Nepal we told you about in an earlier article.
The virtual meeting was extremely well attended, with :
All eight of the Nepalese doctors who are being trained as part of the project were able to be present: Sudhir Silwal, Suren Gauchen, Vivek Ghosh, Sauharda Lohani, Alok Thakur, Ranjana Karmachyarya, Asmita Rayamajhi, Shweta Baral.
Climbers Against Cancer were well-represented too, with Kenton Cool, the renowned mountaineer and CAC ambassador, CAC Trustees Dominic Oughton, Lynn Hamilton and Sheila McCarron, plus Office Manager Helan Alexander in attendance.
The online technology enabled us all to enjoy a presentation about the project itself, but also about the children’s cancer ‘picture’ in Nepal.
Only half of the children who would benefit from being seen at a government centre are referred there. Improved outcomes, and reduced abandonment can be seen for those who are referred, however. The aim is to develop a nationwide network for children’s cancer care, with shared care approaches, to develop radiotherapy & integrate it into patient journeys, targeting brain tumours, sarcomas and lymphomas.
“I am convinced this project will save children’s lives,” commented Barry Pizer, Consultant paediatric oncologist.
Phase 1 of the project is almost finished. The involvement of the UK’s National Health Service, and therefore publicly-funded resources, was mentioned.
Some might ask “Why should the NHS be doing this? Does it have the bandwidth?” In fact, it has been shown that international work opens up cultural awareness & helps foster engagement of local population.
Nepal is one of the World Health Organisation’s global initiatives in childhood cancer centres. The aim is to raise survival rates to 60% by 2030. Nepal seems on course to hit target, other countries will not. Radiotherapy is important part of getting there. “The WHO will definitely look favourably on this project,” said Aileen Flavin.
Dr Ranjana Karmacharya, one of the Nepali oncologists, said she had felt the difference in her approach since following the tutorials.
Here we can see the concentration of medical structures in Nepal, a challenge in several provinces in terms of access.
Kenton Cool, who knows the country very well, spoke movingly about his involvement with Climbers Against Cancer as an ambassador, and his impressions of the project. He said, “it struck a chord. Nepal is a country that somehow manages to pick itself up time and time again and move forward in a positive direction. No matter how small the contribution, it makes a huge impact.”
He quoted John Ellison, CAC’s founder, who said “You can’t do anything about the length of your life but you can do something about its width and its depth”. Kenton took issue with part of that, saying “we CAN make a difference to length of life. Like with this project. Often we are told ‘You can’t do that.’ It takes a certain number of individuals to prove them wrong.” Kenton told the story of ‘The man who skied Everest’, Mr Miura, who proved that his dream of skiing down Everest was possible. “With passion you really can achieve anything,” Kenton told those involved on the ground in the project. “In Nepal there are obstacles that can take away energy and stamina from what you’re trying to do. But you have that passion, you share that with John and Mr Miura. Keep forging on despite some people saying what you’re trying to do, elevate child mortality, is a step too far. It’s not. You’re proving that.”
We are sure that all those in attendance found Kenton Cool’s contribution extremely inspiring.
To conclude we symbolised the CAC grant with a virtual cheque, but the physical funds have already been transferred :
Mark Lodge added, “This is whatever the opposite of the perfect storm is. It’s a generous donation, but more than that, it is kind.”
