AAB add their support to Friends of ANCHOR

AAB has raised over £30,000 for local cancer charity, Friends of ANCHOR in a year-long fundraising drive. AAB has its own Fundraising Committee and each year partner with and raise funds for a local charity. The committee asks the staff to nominate charities close to their hearts and then the partnership is decided by an all-staff vote. Friends of ANCHOR were nominated as a result of both a member of staff, and another staff member’s relative, receiving first-class care as they were treated in the ANCHOR unit of Aberdeen Royal Infirmary over the previous year.

Staff threw themselves into a variety of activities to raise funds throughout the year, the most successful being an interdepartmental challenge to see who could raise the most from a starting pot of £15 over a 100-day period. The most daring of these was a sky dive by 8 very brave members of staff. Proceeds from this challenge have already bought a cool-cap machine for the unit, but staff overwhelmingly voted that the balance of the money raised to go towards a Friends of ANCHOR funded clinical trial which is the first of its kind.

Today, representatives from AAB met with the lead research fellow of the trial, Russell Petty. The aim of the trial – totalling almost £190,000 – is to give patients suffering from an aggressive form of stomach cancer a second chance at fighting a disease which too often claims the lives of those facing it. In Aberdeen the percentage of patients potentially having access to a clinical trial is 44% compared to a national average of 14-16%.

The method using FDG-PET scans will determine within two weeks of starting treatment, those patients for whom chemotherapy will be ineffective thereby enabling consultants to give patients an opportunity of a second chance of effective treatment.

This would represent a significant advance over current practice where patients often undergo two to three months of chemotherapy before it can be determined if the treatment is working. If the cancer has progressed during this time the chance of survival is significantly lowered due to unviable opportunity for alternative treatment.

Clinical Senior Lecturer in Medical Oncology in the Aberdeen University School of Medicine and Consultant Medical Oncologist in NHS Grampian, Russell Petty, the lead of the Friends of ANCHOR-funded clinical trial comments; “It is tremendous to see that people realise the huge importance of clinical trials within the North-east and I’m so grateful to Anderson Anderson & Brown employees for contributing a significant amount of their year-long fundraising to the trial. This will give patients a second chance at fighting this aggressive form of cancer that too often has a poor prognosis. I’m excited and optimistic for what the future holds for cancer patients as a result of this trial.”

Managing Partner of An­derson Anderson & Brown LLP, Mike Brown comments; “I am exceptionally proud of the team for all the time, effort and commitment they’ve passionately poured into fundraising for Friends of ANCHOR this past year. The sum of money raised has surprised as all, especially for a
firm of our size.

“I think the big driving force behind the successful fundraising was down to the absolute assurance that every penny raised would make a direct difference to those we know and love who are receiving cancer treatment at the ANCHOR Unit. To know that we can play a part in ensuring North-east cancer patients receive the best treatment and care is a real privilege and a cause we feel proud to have supported.”