The Hawkesbury Canoe Classic presents Arrow with $200,000!

The Hawkesbury Canoe Classic (HCC) presented Arrow's Chairman, David Nomchong, with a cheque for a massive $200,000 at their presentation dinner on Saturday 19th November, 2011.

The HCC's 2011 donation will support the continued funding of the Arrow-HCC Research Scientist position within the Blood Stem Cell and Research Unit, Department of Haematology & Bone Marrow Transplantation, St Vincent's Hospital, Sydney; and will also provide funding for PhD student projects into leukaemia and stem cell therapy.

"The HCC celebrated its 35th year in 2011 and has continued a long and rewarding association with Arrow Bone Marrow Transplant Foundation. In the last 17 years the HCC has raised almost 3 million dollars in support of leukaemia research, and is no exaggeration to say that Arrow's very existence relies on the ongoing support provided by the HCC. We sincerely appreciate the efforts of everyone involved," said David Chairman, Arrow Chairman.

"On the last weekend in October this year Mark O'Hara our Vice Chairman and Board member Darren Williams again paddled in the Classic, and members of the board, Foundation members, scholarship recipients and supporters turned up at the start to help with registrations, raffle ticket sales, manning stores, scrutineering and marshalling," he said.

Arrow is extremely grateful to all persons involved in the organisation and paddling of the HCC each year. Our sincere thanks go to event coordinator Caroline Kessler; Association president, Kent Heazlett; Association secretary Wendy McLean and to all the Committee members who spend many hours of their own time throughout the year ensuring the event is safe, enjoyable and more successful than the last.

Special thanks go to all paddlers and their land crew for their participation both in the paddle and in raising funds which Arrow gratefully applies to research projects each year.

 

Arrow set to receive a $36,000 grant from Tour de Cure!

Tour de Cure is an Australian charity committed to raising awareness and inspiring action in the fight against cancer. Tour de Cure's signature annual cycling tour sees a group of ordinary people embark on an extraordinary journey between two Australian cities to celebrate the charity's amazing fundraising efforts.

In 2007, a coffee between two mates led to formation of Tour de Cure which this year achieved well past its target raising $2,026,116 to fund vital cancer research, support and prevention projects. Of this total a huge $36,000 will be presented to Arrow in December to help fund vital patient support services including:

• Travel assistance for patients, carers and bone marrow donors experiencing difficulties meeting the cost of travel for transplant and post transplant treatment;
• The Tracey Scone Wig Library which offers cancer and transplant patients the opportunity to borrow a wig completely free of charge for the duration of treatment;
• Scholarships to registered nurses employed in the field of blood and marrow transplantation and paediatric oncology; and
• Patient information seminars and comprehensive guides on the transplant process.

Arrow's involvement with this remarkable event followed from a nomination by a transplant patient's mother who wished to support Arrow's travel assistance program after receiving petrol cards to help with the cost of the frequent long trips to visit her son who was undergoing stem cell treatment at St Vincent's Hospital, Sydney.

Robyn Flood, Arrow CEO said: 'This grant will enable Arrow to provide tangible and practical support to the many patients who look to us for help through the transplant process, whether it be a wig or financial assistance with travel costs. It will also enable us to provide more nursing scholarships in 2012, ensuring transplant and oncology nurses have up to date training which can be applied in their workplace and shared with other colleagues.

 

CBFCA Black Tie Gala raises $20,000 for Arrow

The Customs Brokers and Forwarders Council of Australia Inc (CBFCA) held a black tie Gala Dinner at NSW Parliament House on Friday 9 September 2011 attracting 275 guests from across the international trade and logistics sectors.

Paul Zalai (CBFCA Manager Freight and Business Operations) announced that the event generated a total of $20,000 which was donated to the Arrow Bone Marrow Transplant Foundation. "The sponsorship from all companies and individuals involved is very much appreciated, with special thanks to Wallace International (Gold Sponsor) and the Sydney Ports Corporation (Silver Sponsor) for their generous contributions."

The event was the result of over 12 months of planning and promotion involving representatives from both the CBFCA and the foundation. Mr Zalai stated "We are proud to have partnered with the foundation and are thrilled that the event was not just a great night enjoyed by all but was also a financial success".

 

A special note of thanks to the Arrow Foundation from Dr Adam Bryant

I would just like to take this opportunity to express my deep gratitude to the Arrow Bone Marrow Transplant Foundation and in particular the Hawkesbery Canoe Classic. As many Arrow supporters would be aware, you have been helping support my research for the last three years while I have been working on my PhD entitled "The Role of MicroRNAs in Acute Myeloid Leukaemia".

I took on this project after completing the training required to become a specialist haematologist. This project has been the challenge of my life. After training since I was 17 to become a doctor, and then a specialist, I had to put all of that aside and start from scratch in learning how to become a scientist. But I thought that it was important thing to do. The sort of research that is being done in Professor Ma's haematology lab at St Vincent's Hospital, Sydney, just as it is all over the world, is crucial to help advance our understanding of the diseases that we look after from day to day as doctors. Only with this research can we make inroads into curing some of these dreadful diseases. I wanted to be able to play my part.

With Professor's Ma's supervision and your support, I have been able to make some important findings in the biology of Acute Myeloid Leukaemia. The PhD has also taught me many skills that I will be able to use in day to day care of leukaemia patients. One of the important techniques I have learned is how to design and implement assays to make genetic diagnoses in leukaemia patients, to help determine their prognosis and direct specific treatments. It has also allowed me to approach management of patients and to assess new treatments with a renewed and more critical eye. To think outside of the square. It is with your support that I was fortunate to be recognised with the St Vincent's Clinic Clinical Research Excellence award (registrar category) for my work both on the specific PhD project and other research projects I have been involved with in the hospital.

I have now started at the Vancouver General Hospital Bone Marrow Transplant Unit as the Bone Marrow Transplant and Leukaemia Fellow. This is a well regarded and extremely busy transplant unit that looks all marrow transplants and new leukaemia patients in the province of British Columbia, Canada. My aim is that this training will thoroughly consolidate my training in Bone Marrow Transplantation, and help me bring back new skills and ideas to Australia. I would again like to thank you guys for all of your support over the last few years. I couldn't have done it without you.

 

Arrow supporters raise $10,400 in the 2011 City2Surf!

The annual City2Surf is the world's largest run with a record 85,000 participants joining the 14km race from the city to Bondi Beach this year. The event is also well on its way to becoming Australia's largest fundraising event with over $3.2 million raised for various charities in 2011.

Arrow's participation in the City2Surf began in 2008 following the involvement of two then thirteen-year-old boys, Zigi Blau and Mason Yates who, together with Chris Power, made up the team "Running for Dad," raising over $10,000 for Arrow as a positive way to mark the anniversary of the passing of their fathers, Steve Blau and Ian Yates.

Zigi and Mason formed the "Running for Dad" team once again this year to raise funds for Arrow in memory of their late fathers. Unfortunately Mason broke his thumb in a sporting injury only a day before the race but that that didn't deter Zigi from taking on the challenge on behalf of the team. Zigi completed the race in an astounding 72 minutes and raised a massive $6770 for Arrow.

A huge thank you goes to everyone who participated in the 2011 City2Surf for Arrow including: Kristen Blewitt, Tony and Barbara Dodds who ran for 'Team Arrow,' raising a combined total of $1310; Therese Olsson reached $1000 (double her target!); Vanie Chelliah achieved $810; and Giles Heath and Jojo Carating each raised $50 for Arrow.

Zigi Blau at the City 2 Surf

 

The 'Nat Pack' tackles a half marathon for Arrow

By Vicky Jones

On 18th July, the 'Nat Pack', made up of a group of some very fit (and some very unfit) friends of Natalie Lanworthy, decided to take on the challenge of running the half marathon in the Hunter Valley. The purpose was to raise $5,000 for Arrow and to increase awareness about becoming a bone marrow donor. Arrow has been supporting Nat since she discovered she had leukemia so we wanted to do something to say thank you.

Nat came up to the Hunter Valley and cheered us all over the finishing line; we all ran quicker than we expected to and we smashed our target raising a massive $6644!

Nat is the most positive, wonderful mum (and dear friend of mine). She has shown such amazing strength throughout her treatment and has not once felt sorry for herself. Her daughter Elkie, partner Andy & mother Deborah have all been amazingly strong too.

Nat underwent her Bone Marrow Transplant last Wednesday, 4th August, so we are now all just waiting for her speedy recovery. She ran a full marathon a couple of years ago so I am sure she will be able to do a few more when she is back to full strength.

 

Arrow funds new clinical trial into Graft Versus Host disease

In 2010, Arrow, with the support of the Allan Frenkel Foundation, funded a new clinical trial that involved utilising Psoralen Plus Ultraviolet A (PUVA) wands to assist patients experiencing painful ulceration of the mouth caused by Graft Versus Host Disease (GVHD).

Until now, patients suffering from painful blistering of the mouth due to Chronic Graft Versus Host Disease (GVHD) following an allogeneic stem cell, or bone marrow, transplant had no specific treatments available to help ease the painful ulceration which often left them unable to eat or drink properly at a time when nutrition is paramount. Psoralen Plus Ultraviolet A (PUVA) wands designed to alleviate this painful blistering are now being used by patients at St Vincent's Hospital's Bone Marrow Transplant Ward as part of a clinical trial which resulted from the generosity of Marisa Frenkel, founder of the Allen Frenkel Foundation. Marisa donated three wands at a cost of $745 each in memory of her son, Allen, who suffered from this painful ulceration of the mouth.

 

Nurses have undergone the training required to administer the PUVA wand therapy and are excited to be providing the previously unavailable benefits to patients.

The Haematology Department at St Vincent's Hospital, Sydney, has provided a brief update on the results of the trial:

'We would like to thank Arrow Foundation and benefactors for providing the UV wands to be able to provide the specialised UV therapy for the treatment of oral GVHD. The results to date have been encouraging. We have enrolled 7 patients on the PUVA study who have all had some improvement in their GVHD. The duration and level of improvement in this small population enrolled to date have varied. We hope to continue to enrol more patients in the future and look toward publishing our findings/ summary in the near future.'

 

Severe Degenerative Intervertebral Disc Disease

Severe degenerative intervertebral disc (IVD) disease is a primary cause of lower back pain which is a major health problem that affects a large number of people, and places an enormous economic burden on society. This disease is characterised by the loss of functional cells within IVDs and is currently incurable. Arrow's $40,000 grant for research funding into stem cell therapy for treating this condition supported studies conducted by the researchers at both the Blood Stem Cell & Cancer Research Unit at St Vincent's Hospital, Sydney, and the Orthopaedic Research Institute, St George Clinical School, UNSW. Researchers showed that human bone marrow stem cells (BMSCs) are able to produce functional IVD-like cells under optimal culture conditions in the presence of specific growth factors. In separate experiments human BMSCs were shown to survive when transplanted into the IVDs of rodents. This significant outcome has been presented to two international conferences, and published in several scientific journals.

 

End of a decade: Government takes over long term Arrow grant

For over ten years Arrow has supported the Australasian Bone Marrow Transplant Recipient Registry (ABMTRR) by funding the salary of a part-time data collector at an annual cost of $36,000. The Federal Government has recently announced that it will take on this cost from the end of the year.

Arrow will continue to fund the printing of the Annual Data Summary which provides doctors and other health professionals from Australia and New Zealand with a compilation of transplant patient data used to formulate treatments for patients. Arrow will also maintain the support of the ABMTRR's ad hoc projects as they arise.

 

First prize for Arrow / HCC scholarship recipient, Dr Adam Bryant, at the New Directions in Leukeamia Research Conference

Arrow / HCC PhD student, Adam Bryant, recently won 1st prize for the presentation of his poster titled: miR-10a-a potential oncomiR at the New Directions in Leukaemia Research Conference, Sunshine Coast, March 2010.

Identification of microRNAs involved in myelomonocytic differentiation by expression profiling of AML was also presented at the conference by Mark Lutherborrow and co-authored by Arrow funded research scientist, Catalina Palma, and Adam Bryant. (Author list: Mark Lutherborrow, Adam Bryant, Vivek Jayaswal, David Agapiou, Catalina Palma, Yee Hwa Yang and David Ma.)

The first prize was for another poster titled ETV6.MN1 in collaboration with the cytogenetics department at Sydpath, headed by Mary Suter. Samantha Larssen undertook studies and presented the poster that won First Prize for Best Poster at the Annual Conference of the Australasian Society of Cytogeneticists (Canberra, March, 2010). This poster, co-authored by Adam Bryant, publicly reported for the first time that a special gene mutation fusing the genes ETV6 and MN1 is able to cause Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia. Arrow funding helped Adam perform the genet testing component required to prove the presence of this abnormality and thus contributes to our understanding of the biology underlying this serious disease.

 

Arrow contributes $33,469 to the CCIA / ABMTRR cancer after stem cell transplantation (CAST) study: adult cohort

The Children's Cancer Institute Australia (CCIA) is collaborating with the Australasian Bone Marrow Transplant Recipient Registry (ABMTRR) to conduct the cancer after stem cell transplantation (CAST) study part funded by Arrow.

In Australia, approximately 4000 adults were recipients of allogeneic haematopoietic stem cell transplantations (HSCT) between 1992 and 2007. While long term survival for adults treated with HSCT has increased, new malignancies have proven to be a significant late effect.

Arrow will provide a $33,469 grant to the ABMTRR in support of the second phase of the study which links a collection of transplant risk factor data to provide unbiased estimates of the incidence and risk factors for survival and new malignancies for recipients of allogeneic HSCT.

The approximate 350 adults who undergo allogeneic HSCT each year will benefit in terms of their clinical management and follow-up. Given that malignancy is the most significant late complication of HSCT, the study will provide impartial estimates of the incidence and risk factors for survival and new malignancies in the Australian population.

The project involves two stages:

Part one, near completion and fully funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC), involves data linkage of this population with the National Death Index and the Australian Cancer Database to obtain survival data and new malignancies.

Part two involves medical record abstraction at all Australian allogeneic HSCT units to enhance transplant risk factor data currently held by the Australasian Bone Marrow Transplant Recipient Registry (ABMTRR).

Although it is accepted that the burden of new malignancies in allogeneic HSCT recipients is increased relative to the general population, there is no population-based data and no consensus on the types of cancers that are increased. Australia is in an internationally unique position to conduct population-level research due to the comprehensive coverage of the national death and cancer registries and the cancer types found to be increased will be specific to an Australian population.

Arrow is pleased to support this study which aims to demonstrate: the overall and site-specific incidence rates of new malignancies occurring in recipients of allogeneic HSCT; the overall and cause-specific mortality rates of recipients of allogeneic HSCT, and to evaluate the risk factors of new malignancies occurring in recipients of allogeneic HSCT.

The Children's Cancer Institute Australia (CCIA) conducts world-class research into the causes, diagnosis and treatment of cancer, with a particular emphasis on paediatric cancers.

 

Arrow to support paediatric nurses

Arrow is pleased to extend nursing scholarship opportunities to paediatric oncology nurses studying Blood and Marrow Transplantation or Haematology Nursing subjects within the Paediatric Nursing Studies distance education (DE) course offered by the College of Nursing.

Annual scholarships of up to $1375 are available to oncology nurses currently employed in a paediatric setting, or in an area related to caring for children with cancer or haematological diseases.

The oncology stream includes two core subjects:

1. Principles of acute paediatric nursing
2. Professional issues in paediatric nursing

Specialist electives include: Blood and marrow transplantation and Haematology nursing.

More information...