On Saturday May 16 the annual plant and bric-a-brac sale took place at the Buttermarket in Rye, beneath the town hall, to raise much needed funds for the Royal Marsden Cancer Trials. It was organised by Davida Turpin and her trusted team of volunteers.
The place was buzzing and there was a continuous stream of people attending, including the Right Worshipful Mayor of Rye, Cllr Chris Hoggart, and his wife Kathy. There was a marvellous array of plants and people were excited to find bargains amongst the bric-a-brac.
Davida writes, “This is the sixth year I have organised a fundraising plant sale and bric-a-brac at Rye Town Hall to raise funds for the Royal Marsden Cancer Trials – a trial programme which saved my husband’s life. My husband had been diagnosed with cancer and had been on an immunotherapy trial at the Marsden which had saved his life. I really understood the importance of the work they do at the Marsden.
“It has been a great success this year and so far, I have raised about £3,300 and expect some more donations to come through to add to that total.
“Obviously, I am really pleased with the outcome this year and have raised more than in previous years. I would like to thank all my faithful team who give of their time, energy and enthusiasm to make the event possible. I couldn’t do it without them.
“I would also like to thank the Mayor of Rye, Cllr Chris Hoggart, and Jess Neame at the Town Hall for all their support.
“Finally, a big thank you to everyone who came to the sale and purchased plants and bric-a-brac and to those who made some very generous donations.”
The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust is one of the UK’s leading centres for cancer research and runs hundreds of clinical trials across many cancer types, often in partnership with the Institute of Cancer Research.
Clinical trials at The Royal Marsden include:
Early phase trials (Phase I) testing brand-new drugs and therapies
Phase II and III trials comparing new treatments with current standard care
Precision medicine/genomics trials matching treatments to a tumour’s genetic profile
Immunotherapy trials
Studies using blood tests (ctDNA) to detect cancer recurrence earlier or reduce unnecessary chemotherapy
Image Credits: Kt bruce .