Story
RAISING MONEY FOR CANCER TREATMENT & RESEARCH TRUST (CTRT) … INCREASING AWARENESS OF MOLAR PREGNANCIES … 29 GIRLS 'BARING ALL' …1 TOP PHOTOGRAPHER AND CELEBRITY MAKEUP ARTIST … HUGE PR !
BACKGROUND
So what is a Molar Pregnancy? – a rare condition that arises during pregnancy and causes pre cancerous cells to develop in the womb. Usually after a person miscarries the body naturally rids itself of these cells, but in other cases a cancerous tumour develops, which if not treated quickly enough can spread to other parts of the body. This condition is completely random. The cause of it is still not fully understood. Although rare, the frightening thing is it could happen to anyone and at any age – whether it be your first, second or third pregnancy.
How the campaign began … a note from ‘Charlotte’
“Last year I suffered from something that at the time, I had never heard of - a ‘Molar Pregnancy’. I sadly miscarried, but it’s what transpired after this that has now changed my life forever. My remaining cells from the miscarriage developed into a cancerous tumour and I had to go through 9 painfully traumatic months of intensive chemotherapy to beat this. To go from one of the most beautiful moments in life, to the despair of miscarriage to then discovering you have a critical illness, is certainly the most challenging thing I’ve ever had to deal with. Thankfully my luck changed and in April of this year I was given the ‘all clear’. Only now am I beginning to get my life back – although it’s still far from easy. Having been through this, I’m incredibly passionate about helping anyone else who will unfortunately have to go through the same experience as me. I’ve begun a ‘national fundraising campaign’ and contacted all other people within the UK who have had ‘molar pregnancies’ with the aim of us collectively reaching our £2m goal. The ‘2012 Calendar’ is my first personal fundraising initiative. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE, make this worth our while, and even if you don’t want to see us ‘baring’ all (!) dig deep to help us raise our first £20,000 target.
What Exactly will the money raised go towards?
The Medical Oncology Department at Charing Cross Hospital, have a specialized team who monitor and treat ‘Molar Pregnancies’. They are pioneering for special technology that would allow them to diagnose, much sooner that currently possible, whether or not cells will remain benign or turn cancerous. The overall project will cost £2million but as with any form of cancer, time is of the essence. This would make the most enormous difference and hopefully enable any future patients to get back to ‘normal’ life far sooner.
The Campaign
As well as numerous sponsorship opportunities, we are generating a lot of PR and have already gathered interest from national newspapers and magazines, with The Times already confirming that they will run a story! We’re also incredibly fortunate, as top photographer, ‘Chris Dunlop’, who regularly works for the likes of Vanity Fair and Vogue has agreed to shoot this, PLUS- Bellapierre Mineral Cosmetics a and The Session School (www.thesessionschool.co.uk) to provide hair and makeup. The Get Naked 2012 Calendar is printed by Danilo calendars
Please email charlottectrt@hotmail.co.uk should you have any queries.
For more information on CTRT, ‘Molar Pregnancies’ and the work of Charing Cross Hospital visit:
http://www.hmole-chorio.org.uk
Starring: Sarah-Jane Cohen; Michy B, Nicola Marks, Nicole Fels, Emma Solomon, Claire Graff, Caroline Graham, Alexa Isaacs, Nicky Ackerman, Nicky Herman, Vikki Lee, Michelle & Mel Kristall Monnickendam, Clara Saffer, Sara Simmonds, Laura Synett, Mel Rubin, Rachel Rachel, Juliette Benson, Manna Kamio Badiella, Lucy Pearl, Natalie Benardout, Michelle Selzer, Luisa Kalozios Zissman, Rachel Barnett, Emily Asher, Rachel Segal, Lital Bejerano, Carmel Sarano and Charlotte Solomon