Altruism

Altruism is defined as the principle or practice of unselfish concern for or devotion to the welfare of others. In this day and age, when we are all time poor and stressed to perform at work, home and in all things media- social media, that is- it is increasingly easy to become very ego-centric and forget the value of doing something for someone else.

Well I would like to draw your attention to a friend of my son’s who is making one of the ultimate sacrifices (for a girl in MY opinion) – she is joining the Leukaemia Foundation World’s Greatest Shave. Jen Boyce is a very talented girl playing bass guitar and back up vocals in the fantastic up-and-coming band Ball Park Music, as well as holding down a day job in a city architectural firm.

Leukaemias are cancers that affect the blood and bone marrow. All leukaemias start in the bone marrow where developing blood cells, usually white cells undergo a malignant change. They multiply in an uncontrolled way and crowd the marrow, affecting its ability to make normal blood cells. Increasing numbers of abnormal cells, called blast cells or leukaemic blasts eventually spill out of the bone marrow and travel around the body in the bloodstream.

This is all the more relevent when a close friend’s son was diagnosed last year with lymphoma, a cancer which affects the lymphatic system. (See www.leukaemia.org.au for comprehensive information about all these types of cancers). This is the first time that one of our friends has had a child affected by cancer and it was chilling to hear that news. Thank goodness he is doing well with chemo and has a good prognosis.

But all of that good work in improving outcomes with cancer treatments comes through research and good research only happens with lots of money and especially from donations from the public with events such as The World’s Greatest Shave. And here we are back at Jen!!! So this March, Jen will be shaving her head for the Leukemia Foundation Worlds Greatest Shave! Please consider sponsoring Jen to help support the Leukemia Foundation. Any amount is greatly appreciated to help her reach her goal! In Australia, 31 people each day are diagnosed with blood cancer or blood disorder and The Leukemia Foundation is there to help, thanks to all their generous sponsors Here’s the link to Jen’s donation site: http://my.leukaemiafoundation.org.au/kilogramjam.

Now I am off to that website to make our donation and I may listen to some Ball Park Music into the bargain!