Vote Now For The 2008 Beacons Of Hope Awards, Lymphoma Association, UK

Main Category: Lymphoma / Leukemia
Also Included In: Cancer / Oncology
Article Date: 31 Jul 2008 - 5:00 PST

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The Lymphoma Association, the only specialist UK charity that provides medical information and support to lymphatic cancer patients, their families and friends, is calling for nominations for their annual Beacons of Hope Awards.

As Julie Mercer, Head of Communications for the charity says: "The awards are part of the activities for World Lymphoma Awareness Day - which is celebrated annually on September 15. We want to recognise the contribution made by some of the remarkable people who have had some kind of a connection with lymphatic cancer. The awards are a great chance to highlight their dedication, hard work and support."

It's the third year that the ceremony has been held and this time round, nominees will enjoy a night out at the Magic Circle in London on September 18 with drinks and canapés as well as some up-close entertainment with the leading magicians of today.

The winner from each category will receive their award from Radio 4 presenter Rory Morrison, who was diagnosed in 2004 with Waldenströms Macroglobulinaemia, a non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

The four nomination categories are:

- Outstanding contribution in care and support
- Raising awareness of lymphoma
- Lymphoma Association fundraiser of the year
- A Special Commendation award for someone who may not fall into the first three categories, but who deserves special recognition for their contribution

Nominations must be received by August 31 to be considered. Please send your contact details, along with the contact information of the person you are nominating and details of why they deserve the relevant award to Julie Mercer, Head of Communications, PO Box 386, Aylesbury, HP20 2GA or by email to juliem@lymphomas.org.uk

**Photos from last year's event are available on request

About the Lymphoma Association

Founded by patients in 1986, the Lymphoma Association is the only specialist UK charity that provides accurate medical information and support to lymphatic cancer patients, their families and friends.

Every year, nearly 11,000 new cases of lymphoma are identified in the UK alone, making it the 6th most common cancer diagnosed by clinicians, and the most common cancer affecting the 15 - 30 age group.

The services that we offer include a freephone patient helpline, free patient literature, a buddy scheme with telephone links to others with similar experiences, local support groups, regional patient conferences and comprehensive information on our award winning websites. In addition to this, the organisation is currently running a pilot project which has established five Lymphoma Association Clinical Nurse Specialist posts within NHS Haematology Units.

The Lymphoma Association is also the founder member of the Lymphatic Cancer Alliance, a UK based coalition of four charities (the others' being CancerBACKUP, Leukaemia Care and the Leukaemia Research Fund) that have come together to create awareness of lymphoma, which should result in better support, care and treatment for lymphatic cancer patients everywhere.

We also represent the patient perspective by providing evidence for the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) appraisals, being on the steering committee of the NHS Coalition for Cancer Information (CCI) and by being a founder member of the Lymphoma Coalition - an international group of lymphoma patient support organisations.

The Lymphoma Association