16 November 2018, Tim Burton
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The NCVO is an organisation that champions charities. On Monday 19 November they are running a campaign called #YouMadeItHappen which will see charities in the UK tell their supporters the difference they’ve made.
We would like to put a shout out to everyone who has helped us work towards the goal of ending the suffering caused by urology diseases. Here’s a little look at what your support has done.
Mark was diagnosed with bladder cancer at the very young age of 39. Over the course of five years Mark received treatment after treatment and each time he thought he was clear, the cancer came back.
“It felt like my life was on hold, that everything had just come to a standstill. I felt like I couldn’t see light at the end of the tunnel and my emotions became very frail and very fragile. For years I struggled to come out of my cage and talk about how I felt. I’d feel sick whenever I saw the hospital’s number was ringing on my phone, it was horrible.”
Thanks to money that you gave, we were able to train Mr Peter Cooke to perform robotic surgery who operated robotically on Mark. Because Mark’s procedure was robotic, he was back on his feet in 24 hours and back in work inside 11 weeks.
“Now, a year and a bit after the operation, I am totally back to normal, I’m going to the gym most nights, going for runs, enjoying surfing, and this summer we’re going on our first family holiday since the diagnosis. Unless you were told, you wouldn’t know I’d had bladder cancer; I just have a normal life, which was all I wanted when I was at my worst with bladder cancer.” Read Mark's story here.
For many people with incontinence, even something as simple as leaving the house can be a huge ordeal. When the urge to use the toilet can come over you at any time, it’s important to know where your nearest toilet is and this can be a big problem when you’re out and about.
Thanks to money you’ve given, we have been able to offer ‘Need to Pee’ cards to patients across the country. Now, when they’re out and find themselves with an urgent need to use the toilet, they can present their card and get access to toilets in business across the country.
Robotic surgeons, who were trained with money from TUF’s donors, performed the UK’s first robotic surgery kidney transplants. Robotic surgery means that the kidney can be transplanted using keyhole surgery, which means a much smaller wound compared to traditional open kidney transplants. This means that patients can recover much quicker.
Researchers funded by TUF have developed a simple urine test for bladder cancer that can detect bladder cancer in 98% of cases, examining 150 markers, instead of the usual 2 or 3. This could save the NHS around £25 million a year and end the need for painful cystoscopies. It could change the face of bladder cancer treatment.
TUF is a charity that doesn’t receive big grants from government or major grant givers. We are funded by donors like you, who chip in with what they can. Each of the achievements above have made life better for urology patients and their families. None of the achievements above would have happened if it wasn’t for you.
Thank you for what you give. You are changing and saving lives every day.
