The Alive Charity Foundation, in collaboration with Puttinu Cares, will be raising funds for the gold ribbon, synonymous with children with cancer.

“An urgent need was felt to start conducting research in two other common cancers found in Malta, especially in children: leukaemia and brain tumours,” said the foundation’s chairman Nicky Camilleri.

The Alive 2015 – Cycling Challenge for Cancer will be held from July 9 to 18 across seven countries. Forty-five cyclists are training and preparing for the ride. The group will cycle around 150 km every day from the Alps to Sutton in the UK.

The route will see the cyclists starting from Liechtenstein, crossing the Alps and Switzerland and heading into Germany. After crossing the Black Forest, France’s Alsace region and the Vosges Mountains, they will proceed to Luxembourg and cycle to Belgium. Crossing the English Channel to Dover, the cyclists will then finish off at the Puttinu Cares residence in Sutton.

To date, 41 of the 45 places available have been filled and fundraising activities are already being organised.

The launch at Mater Dei Hospital was attended by President Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca, Parliamentary Secretary for Research Chris Agius, Shadow Minister for the Family and Rights of Children Robert Cutajar, pro-rector for Research and Innovation Richard Muscat, senior lecturer Pierre Schembri Wismayer and consultant paediatric oncologist and Puttinu Cares Children’s Cancer Support Group president Victor Calvagna.

“The most common cancers in children are acute leukaemias and lymphomas, brain tumours, the various sarcomas and embryonal tumours particular to children,” said Calvagna. Cancer in Malta affects around 10 children aged under 14 every year. A third of these suffer from leukaemia and another third are prone to brain tumours. Therefore it is our duty to support initiatives that help research in the treatment of these conditions,” he added.

Wismayer will be conducting the research together with a team of researchers, in collaboration with Mater Dei Hospital.

“Much of the research already funded by Alive is aimed at better understanding the cancer’s genetic background in Malta and how to best tackle it. This time round, Alive 2015 will be funding research into actually treating the cancers. And for this we are very thankful,” Wismayer said.

“The University needs to expand its scientific research endeavours in paediatric cancer. Private initiatives, such as Alive 2015, are definitely to be commended and it is hoped they are emulated by others so that we will be able to continue expanding our research capabilities,” Muscat said.

Alive 2015 – Cycling Challenge for Cancer is being powered by Valletta Cruise Port, Made Good, Wurth and Garmin and sponsored by Owner’s Best, Ricetti, Pavi Supermarkets and Springbox media.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.