If you’re in the Yoma office throughout November, you’re in for a giggle as our Online PR Exec, Alex Gallagher will be donning a different fancy dress outfit every single day! It’s not because she just has a penchant for fancy dress, but in a bid to raise awareness, funds – and undoubtedly plenty of eyebrows and smiles – in aid of pancreatic cancer.

Alex has set up Lydia’s Love Foundation, in memory of her mum, to help inform and support others about this terrible disease that her mum passed away from and raise vital funds for research into effective treatments.
Pancreatic Cancer UK, the only national charity dedicated to fighting this illness report that:

• • Pancreatic cancer is the fifth most common cause of cancer-related deaths in the UK with 24 new cases being diagnosed every single day
  • Just 1% of cancer research funding is allocated to developing treatments
  • It is the only form cancer in which survival rates have not improved, at all, in the last 40 years
  • The UK has the worst survival rates in the world, only 3% of those diagnosed with pancreatic cancer are expected to survive for 5 years or more.

(Infographic c/o www.pancreaticcancer.org.uk)
They are campaigning to double the survival rate and improve the experiences of those seeking support from the NHS and with this first, fun event on behalf of Lydia’s Love Foundation, Alex hopes to help them do it and says her mum would love the way her campaign is shaping up, saying:
“She would have loved this but most of all, she would have loved the way people are responding to it. I haven’t even started the fancy dress challenge yet but already, people I don’t know have been sending messages of support, offering to lend me costumes – local fancy dress business Party Delights have even donated a couple of outfits to me – and tons of people have been making donations through my Just Giving page. It’s amazing!
Pancreatic cancer has a devastating effect on the lives of the people diagnosed and their families. There’s a lot of work to do if the survival rates are going to improve but the kindness of strangers who’ve offered their support so far has been really heartening. I like to think that by working together – even if one of us is dressed like a total fool – we’re killing cancer with kindness.” So, if you’re out and about in Liverpool this November and pass a Minion in Asda, a Little Mermaid on the bus or a life-size whoopee cushion just strolling down the road, you’re looking at someone, who is in her own words, “a little bonkers”, trying to do something positive.
If you want to help Alex raise awareness and smash her fundraising target of £500 there are a few easy things you can do:
To loan Alex a fancy dress outfit: Message her directly at lexygallagher@googlemail.com
To make a donation: Visit Alexandra’s ‘Big Fat Fancy Dress’ fundraising page on Just Giving and share it with your family and friends on Facebook and Twitter.
To get event updates: Follow Alex on Facebook at Lydia’s Love Foundation for daily pictures or just head on over to the Yoma blog where she’ll be giving weekly updates!
To raise awareness: Find out more about the symptoms of pancreatic cancer and the supports available online at www.pancreaticcancer.org.uk and share everything you learn with your loved ones.