We hope that you have all stayed healthy since our last newsletter and would like to wish you a Happy New Year for 2026.
We would like to thank everyone for their kind donations at Christmas. We are also grateful to the helpers who took part with our Morrison and Tesco collections which raised respectively £992.40 and £501.20!
We were able to organise a curry night again and were delighted to raise £445.50 and our quiz which raised £528. A huge thank you for all the unwanted Christmas presents, bottles, and items which are still needed for our tombola, raffles. Should any of you have any old bottle bags, please, do keep them for Dayl for the lucky dip.
Remember, if your company is choosing a Brand Ambassador or charity of the year, think of us!
As you may have read in the press, a lot of successful research is being done at the moment. Every pound raised does make the difference. We are also looking for sponsors for our annual fun run for prizes for our runners. We only need £100 per sponsor which will mean every penny will go to the research.
We are also very happy to find out that Leo has found a stem cell match and wish him and all his family our very best wishes.
Blood cancer has an open line for anyone who is undergoing any treatment or would like to speak confidentially with the support services team on 0808 2080 888
We are delighted that our long serving Secretary’s son, Jean-Marc, will be running the London Marathon for us in April. You can donate to his JustGiving page by clicking here.
https://www.justgiving.com/page/jean-marc-knoll-5?
Blood Cancer UK website
We would like to thank everyone who has contributed either their time or donations in memory of a loved one over the years and we would like to remember all our friends and family who have lost their battles against blood cancers. For this reason, Anne is busy building a page “In Memoriam”. This is a new project, and we are unable to put too many details, but should you be interested in having a friend or family mentioned on that page, do contact us. Check our website on https://www.bcukbromsgrove.org/ in the next few weeks.
FUTURE EVENTS
QUIZ NIGHT 13th March:
This will take place at the Avoncroft Art Centre. Teams of 4 £28 for the team. Steve and his family will be present again.
TESCO COLLECTION Expecting date in March/April
We have applied for a date in March/April and will let you know as soon as we have a confirmation, which will be after the end of February.
WALK OF LIGHTS MARCH 28TH at Cannon Hill Park in Birmingham for a 2.5km or 5km night-time walk and light the way to beat blood cancer. Collect your free lantern upon arrival and become part of the light spectacular! There are 2.5km and 5km routes to choose from with both accessible for pushchairs and wheelchairs. Cannon Hill Park is accessible by public transport and there is limited car parking on site. Follow the link to register:
https://bloodcancer.org.uk/get-involved/walk-of-light
If you are able to help on the night or simply take part. Please let Nicole on nicnoelharris@aol.com know as any money raised from you will then go directly to our branch!
FUN RUN MAY 10TH
Our annual Fun Run will take place at Bromsgrove Rugby Club and will consist of a 10k and a 5k race. All runners will receive a medal and all fundraisers with £30 sponsorship will get a running shirt. The 5k route, which can be walked, follows the canal towpath for some of the route so children must be accompanied by an adult. The 10k is more challenging and attracts runners from a wide area even from France! The run will be using chip timing. We would like to stress that the event is limited to 500 runners so do not wait to register. You can do this online on
https://www.riderhq.com/events/p/2b5ftvz3/f/bromsgrove-10k-and-5k-for-blood-cancer-uk-2026
Should you be able to help on the day or before by putting up posters and marketing the event, please do contact Nicole.
RESEARCH
Our expert’s view on the research
Dr Rubina Ahmed, Director for Research, Policy and Services at Blood Cancer UK, said:
“This new study builds on Blood Cancer UK-funded research, published a few years ago, where three children with leukaemia – a blood cancer – including a young girl called Alyssa were the first in the world to receive a new type of CAR T-cells. By treating a larger group of children and adults who had this aggressive blood cancer, the researchers have shown in this work that this approach can be delivered safely and in a consistent way.
“Importantly, almost all those in the trial reached a deep remission strong enough to move on to a stem-cell transplant, which is often their best chance of long-term survival. This study is vital as leukaemia is the most common childhood cancer and it also gives scientists much clearer information about the treatment’s side effects. These include how long the edited CAR T-cells stay in the body, and why a small number of cancers lose the CD7 marker to hide from treatment.
“These results show real promise that precise gene-editing could become a powerful new option for people with aggressive T-cell leukaemia, especially when standard treatments have stopped working.”