THE Unoentrecienmil Foundation It defines itself as the only foundation in Spain focused exclusively on the complete cure of childhood leukemia. It promotes research projects and recently announced the new edition of La Vuelta al Cole Unoentrecienmil, its solidarity race that unites children, parents and teachers in Spain.
What is now called the Race Against Childhood Leukemia will take place on October 25. OKSALUD interviews the project manager of the Unoentrecienmil Foundation, Isabel Bautista Bardón to tell us about the Foundation and the upcoming race.
QUESTION.- What is childhood leukemia? Symptoms, diagnosis and incidence.
ANSWER.- THE childhood leukemia It is the most common type of cancer in children. Every year, around 340 children are diagnosed in Spain, and only 84% survive.
At the Unoentrecienmil Foundation, we have focused our efforts for more than ten years on improving these figures, through research. Only by helping our scientists can we find a cure for this problem. We must treat these children and cure them better since current treatments leave many side effects. We must fight together and ensure that they move forward and have a good life.
We have just presented a social mobilization campaign called “Leukemia Go Now” and we are collecting signatures to ask the administrations for cooperation and coordination in order to be able to implement in Spain the “ALL together” protocol that 14 other European countries already have where it is better. survival rate.
Q.- For how many years have you been celebrating the school awareness event against childhood leukemia in schools at the start of the school year?
A.- It’s a source of pride to say that we’ve been here for ten years. In 2015, Sonia, the mother of Miguel, a child suffering from leukemia, suggested that her school organize a solidarity race against this disease and Unoentrecienmil, the only foundation created to fight this disease, took charge of it. make it a reality. More than 500 people participated in this spontaneous action on September 27 of the same year, laying the foundations for what today is not just a race, but a day that floods schoolyards with energy and hope . Today, hundreds of thousands of boys and girls, accompanied by their teachers and families, ride La Vuelta al Cole throughout Spain.
In addition, around the celebration of the race, a whole series of transversal contents are organized which promote solidarity and empathy between children. Fundamental values for the little ones. Back to school Unoentrecienmil is a day of awareness for society, celebration for those who have overcome the disease and remembrance for those who could not do so.
Q.- In addition, they are celebrating the tenth anniversary of the Foundation…. Milestones?
A.- Although it is a very difficult disease, some very good things have happened in these ten years. We have promoted 15 research projects on aspects of prevention, protocols, toxicity, relapses or immunotherapies in the best research centers in Spain and with high-level Spanish researchers, in La Paz, El Niño Jesús, El San Joan de Déu, Pediatric Cancer Center. Barcelona, or to scientific entities such as the Josep Carreras Leukemia Research Institute, the Severo Ochoa Molecular Biology Center or the Universities of Salamanca and Complutense. In total, more than 7,000,000 euros were invested.
We promote and carry out the implementation of the “ALL Together” Protocol in Spain to place our country at European level in terms of the treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
And we also opened our first Unoentrecienmil Accelerator, the foundation’s project that integrates physical exercise into the treatment of childhood cancer, after carrying out research that shows that practicing sports accelerates the recovery from cancer and reduces it by 17%. hospitalization time. The first Unoentrecienmil accelerator is already in operation at the La Paz University Hospital in Madrid.
Q.- Last school year, more than 1,600 schools from all over Spain participated, more than 600,000 children, family members and teachers ran, and the collection exceeded 1,500,000 euros, intended for research on childhood leukemia. What are the forecasts for 2024?
A.- We would like to continue adding schools, families, teachers and friends. Because for us, La Vuelta al Cole Unoentrecienmil is a way to raise funds, necessary to continue research, but it is also a way to raise awareness among the population and mobilize thousands of people. We want to fight this fight together, because we believe that this is the way to really change things and so that all the families going through this ordeal can feel the love and warmth of thousands of people in their immediate environment. That is why we must reach many schools in all corners of Spain. We can’t leave them alone. These movements that we generate like La Vuelta al Cole Unoentrecienmil provide a lot of support to families, they feel supported and that is almost the most important thing.
Q.- How do schools register?
A.- Each school can register via a form on www.lavueltaalcole.com. From the Unoentrecienmil Foundation we take care of sending the instructions and materials so that each center, with the collaboration between teachers, parents and the physical education department, can organize and prepare the race in their own way, choosing its own schedule, route and distance according to its possibilities and the characteristics of its facilities.
As part of the educational project, in the days leading up to the race we also work with students in the classrooms to raise awareness about the disease, the importance of the race and how they can contribute .
