Thank you to everyone who attended our curry night on the 7th November at Dine India in Catshill.
As well as everyone enjoying great food and company, we also raised £445.50. Keep your eyes peeled for details of our next curry night soon!
We are pleased to tell you that we have been very busy over the past six months and managed to raise over £37,357 in the last financial year. We are grateful to all the runners and helpers who turned up for our annual Fun Run and helped raise £11,628. A special thank you to Karen Cartlidge who raised £4732,44 in memory of her friend Pete. Thank you to everyone who helped at the Elizabethan Market which raised £157.00. We are also very grateful to Judy Hurst for making cards and selling them on our behalf and to Horace Jukes who raises money by selling some of his paintings. We wish him a Happy 90th birthday!
A huge thank you to all the committee members who are working hard to raise such a huge amount of money. Finally, we would like to thank Françoise Hancock who has been with us for many years and is now moving out of the area. We will miss her and are so grateful to her for her hard work with the tombola and for being part of the committee.
Since the above was written, we have been delighted to learn that the son of our long serving Secretary, Sue Knoll, will be running the London Marathon next year in aid of Blood Cancer UK.
SPECIAL REQUEST FROM NICOLE
You are all aware of my motivation for raising money for this worthy cause. As a committee, we find it harder to raise money but mainly to get people to help us out. I am so grateful to all of you who have for the past years been there.
Do not worry, I will still be here in the years to come, but we are desperate for everyday help. You do not have to join the committee, although, if you are free, would be grateful. We have meetings on Zoom 5 times a year.
You do not have to do much. As I previously mentioned, it could be finding places to put tins in the town and collect money. This can be done anytime. We are very short of prizes for tombola or raffle. Let your friends know our need.
I find it difficult going round all the shops or clubs in Bromsgrove and elsewhere, to put some posters advertising our events.
The fun run is an event which could do with more publicity, so if you do have any idea on the matter, know someone who would sponsor us, please do contact me
MORRISON COLLECTION 6th SEPTEMBER
We will be using buckets rather than tins and now have access to a card reader as we are aware that not everyone carries cash anymore and it may be easier to get a donation. If you are free anytime on that day, please contact Nicole nicnoelharris@aol.com
QUIZ NIGHT FRIDAY 17TH OCTOBER
This will take place at the Avoncroft Arts Centre at 7.30pm. Teams of 4 at £25 per team. Bring your own drinks and refreshments. Steve, our quizmaster, and his family will be present again. Contact Nicole on nicnoelharris@aol.com
CURRY EVENING FRIDAY 7th NOVEMBER
We will be having another Curry Night at Dine India in Catshill at 7.30pm. The cost of the meal is £25 per person and includes a choice from 3 starters and 3 mains, with rice and naan bread as well as a dessert. Dayl has also organised a fantastic raffle for the evening. Contact Nicole asap on nicnoelharris@aol.com
CHRISTMAS CARDS
Blood Cancer UK is now selling Christmas cards. I am waiting for a link to send to show you the stock. You will then be able to contact me to place an order.
GREETINGS CARDS
Judy Hurst is selling some greetings cards at Avoncroft Museum, sending us the profit she makes from her sale. If interested, you can buy them at the shop.
TOMBOLA ITEMS
We have used up 400 tombola prizes and will need to replenish our stock for the Fun Run next year. A lot of those unwanted presents you may have, raise a great deal of money for our branch. Now that the children are on holiday and whilst doing some clearing out, you may find something which would be of use to us. We also would appreciate some raffle prizes if you have any.
BOTTLES WANTED
We always need some bottles for our raffle prizes. It doesn’t have to be alcoholic; we can raise money from anything you give us.
TINS IN PUBS OR SHOPS
If you can put a collection tin in your shop or pub, do let me know. I do not have much spare time to go and look for new places such as cafes to ask but this would be greatly appreciated. A great deal of money can be raised that way.
RESEARCH NEWS
New research shows a common diabetes drug may prevent aggressive leukaemia
Research from the University of Cambridge shows that metformin, a widely used and affordable diabetes drug, could prevent a form of acute myeloid leukaemia in people at high risk of the disease. The leading scientific journal, Nature, published the findings. Blood Cancer UK funded the work with additional funds from Cancer Research UK, and the Welcome Trust.
Stem cell transplant research breakthrough gives hope to those with blood cancer
Blood Cancer UK-funded researchers at the University of Birmingham have identified a key target, CD70, to reduce the likelihood of ‘graft-versus-host disease’ (GVHD) which people with blood cancer can develop after receiving a life-saving stem cell transplant. The research, published in Blood Advances, suggests that graft-versus-host-disease could one day be detected and treated.
Late-stage Hodgkin lymphoma drug available for use on the NHS
Today (April 2), drug regulators in England shared that adults with advanced Hodgkin lymphoma have access to a new treatment. They approved brentuximab vedotin (Adcetris) in combination with other therapies for routine use on the NHS in England.
We hope that you have all stayed healthy since our last newsletter and would like to wish you a Happy New Year for 2025.
A huge thank you goes to Karen Cartlidge who trekked to Everest Base Camp and in doing so raised a magnificent £4525.93 for our Branch.
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 £429 and £482!
We were able to organise a curry night again and were delighted to raise £427 and our quiz which raised a record amount of £860. All this means we are only £2000 off our 1.2 million pounds raised to date since 1988. A huge thank you for all the unwanted Christmas presents, bottles, and items which are needed for our tombola and 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 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 to provide prizes for our runners.
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
FUTURE EVENTS
QUIZ NIGHT – MARCH 21st.
We will be returning to Avoncroft Arts Centre where you will be able to bring your own drinks and snacks. The cost will be £28 per team. The quiz will start at 7.30 but we would be grateful for help with setting up the room beforehand.
TESCO COLLECTION – TBC
We have applied for a date in March and will let you know as soon as we have a confirmation.
WALK OF LIGHTS MARCH 29TH – Cannon Hill Park, Birmingham
This is for a 2.5km or 5km night-time walk to light the way to beat blood cancer. Collect your free lantern upon arrival and become part of the light spectacular! The routes are accessible for both pushchairs and wheelchairs. Cannon Hill Park is accessible by public transport and there is limited car parking on site. Follow the link to register:
If you are able to help on the night or simply take part, please let Nicole know on nicnoelharris@aol.com as any money raised from you will then go directly to our branch!
FUN RUN MAY 11TH
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 vest. 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:
Should you be able to help please do contact Nicole.
HOUSE OF LORDS
We were honoured to be invited to the House of Lords by Blood Cancer UK to discuss the following:
As those of you who have been diagnosed with leukaemia realise, it is not always easy to get a diagnosis very quickly, as symptoms in blood cancers can be very similar to winter viruses and therefore, not always spotted. We now have some leaflets on symptoms, treatment and care, should anyone want any further information. You also may look on the Blood cancer UK website to get further information or download any leaflets which may be useful. Remember, we do not just research into leukaemia but also lymphoma, myeloma and other blood related cancers.
ST PAUL’S CATHEDRAL CAROL CONCERT
Sue and Nicole were invited to a fantastic evening in London, raising money for Blood Cancer UK but also to meet the stars and researchers. The scientific director and Birmingham researchers would like you to know how grateful they are for all your help in raising money for them to go further with any research needed and for this HUGE THANK YOU!
We are pleased to tell you that we have been very busy this past six months and have managed to raise over £23, 000 so far since April. We are grateful to all the runners and helpers who turned up for our annual Fun Run and helped raise £19,066. A special thank you to St John’s Surgery who contributed £6739.59 of this. Thank you to everyone who helped at the Elizabethan Market which raised £240. We were proud to receive the cup for the best stall. We are also very grateful to you for helping us with our collections at Tesco and Morrisons which raised respectively, £482 and £641 plus the benefit of the Gift Aid Small Donations Scheme on both (extra 25%).
TESCO COLLECTION 12th OCTOBER:
We will be using buckets rather than tins and now have access to a card reader as we are aware that not everyone carries cash anymore and it may be easier to get a donation. If you are free anytime on that day, please contact Nicole nicnoelharris@aol.com
QUIZ NIGHT FRIDAY 18TH OCTOBER
This will take place at the Bromsgrove Rugby Club Bromsgrove at 7.30pm. Teams of 4 at £25 per team. Steve and his family will be present again. Contact Nicole on nicnoelharris@aol.com
CURRY EVENING FRIDAY 8th NOVEMBER
We will be having another Curry Night at Dine India in Catshill at 7.30pm. The cost of the meal is £25 per person and includes a choice from 3 starters and 3 mains, with rice and naan bread as well as a dessert. Dayl has also organised a fantastic raffle for the evening. Contact Nicole asap on nicnoelharris@aol.com
CHRISTMAS CARDS
Blood Cancer UK is now selling Christmas cards. I am waiting for a link to send to show you the stock. You will then be able to contact me to place an order.
GREETINGS CARDS
Judy Hurst is selling some greetings cards at Avoncroft Museum, sending us the profit she makes from her sale. If interested, you can buy them at the shop.
TOMBOLA ITEMS
We have used up 400 tombola prizes and will need to replenish our stock for the Fun Run next year. A lot of those unwanted presents you may have raise a great deal of money for our branch. So now that the children are on holiday and whilst doing some clearing out, you may find something which would be of use to us. We also would appreciate some raffle prizes if you have any.
BOTTLES WANTED
We always need some bottles for our raffle prizes. It doesn’t have to be alcoholic; we can raise money from anything you give us.
TINS IN PUBS OR SHOPS
If you are able to put a collection tin in your shop or pub, do let Sue know and she will let you have a tin. A great deal of money can be raised that way.
TREK TO EVEREST CAMP BASE
Karen Cartlidge is embarking on a challenging journey of over 100km to a height of 5364 metres in memory of a good friend, Pete Allen, who sadly passed earlier this year. She is doing this to raise money for Blood Cancer UK and to support her please go onto: https://www.justgiving.com/page/karen-cartlidge-1722428434857
FUN RUN MAY 11th 2025
We are already taking entries for this event. Should you wish to register you may do so now on:
RESEARCH NEWS
New blood test to help diagnose myeloma among research boost to Birmingham
Blood Cancer UK have marked Myeloma Awareness Week, which ran from the 17th of June to 24th June by announcing £1.3m of new funding to new myeloma research projects!
Over half of this money is being awarded to research at the University of Birmingham. It includes a £310k grant to a team who are developing a new blood test to help diagnose the disease.
In the UK around 5,900 people are diagnosed with myeloma each year. It’s the disease that insurance leader, now chair of trustees at Blood Cancer UK, Matthew Wilson has. In 2020 Matthew felt permanently exhausted but put it down to stress. He spent two years in a cycle of diagnosis and treatment, before seeking the expertise of another doctor where he received the life-changing blood cancer diagnosis that often presents challenges in diagnosis and treatment.
While myeloma can be treated, it currently has no cure. Now stable and living with his condition, Matthew set up the Matthew Wilson Multiple Myeloma Fund, which is funding four projects to transform outcomes for people with the disease.
A small percentage of people with myeloma do not produce sufficient amounts of a specific protein found in the blood and used to monitor their disease. This is often referred to as non-measurable myeloma. In the new £310k project, Dr Tracey Chan, Dr Jen Heaney and their team at the University of Birmingham are developing a new technique to help diagnose and monitor people with non-measurable myeloma.
The technique takes blood samples from someone with myeloma and separates proteins found in the blood based on their electrical charge. It detects specific proteins that would not be visible with standard blood tests.
The team will be testing their new technique on a large group of people with the disease and will also conduct group conversations with people with non-measurable myeloma to understand their opinions of using this type of test as an alternative.
