Only 0.23% of the National Cancer Institute’s 2018 budget was dedicated to stomach cancer, ranking 18th out of 19 categories. Of that, the amount devoted to Hereditary Diffuse Gastric Cancer (HDGC) was even less. Similarly, the American Cancer Society has only funded five stomach cancer research grants since its founding. A $1.5 million endowment campaign will provide core funding for The Centre for Translational Cancer Research in New Zealand to conduct long-term research into Hereditary Diffuse Gastric Cancer (HDGC), giving patients an option to live with their stomachs and without stomach cancer.
The vision of the Save Our Stomachs campaign is to find a solution based on scientific research in which CDH1 mutation carriers won’t have to remove their stomach to avoid hereditary diffuse gastric cancer. The endowment fund will support sustained Hereditary Diffuse Gastric Cancer Research at The Centre for Translational Cancer Research at the University of Otago in New Zealand. Globally, 1.03 million people are diagnosed with stomach cancer each year, with the hereditary form being the most difficult to diagnose and most fatal. Because HDGC is a rare form of stomach cancer, it also receives the least research funding in an already underfunded disease category.
The Save Our Stomachs campaign has been created and driven by the Save Our Stomachs (SOS) Advocacy Group, also called Parry’s Angels. NSFC has chosen to support this important endowment through a $250,000 pledge by helping spread the word and encouraging others to support this important and worthy campaign. In addition, we are planning additional fundraising activities for the campaign in the future.
Funding the HDGC Research Endowment to $1.5 mil USD will provide critical core funding for HDGC research in perpetuity, allowing for research objectives to turn into better patient management and quality of life. Ultimately the goal is to exceed this mark to accelerate further the most pressing goal – chemo prevention to Save Our Stomachs – For The Future.
Please visit https://saveourstomachs.org/ to learn more. For questions or more information about the campaign, you may email info(at)saveourstomachs.org