About UR the Cure
UR the Cure is a registered charity with the ACNC (Australian Charities and Not For Profits Commission). It was founded in 2015 by Pamela Bousejean who had Hodgkins Lymphoma (a type of blood cancer) and her personal experience in struggling to find a stem cell match to cure her cancer. UR the Cure is an official accredited partner of the Australian Bone Marrow Donor Registry (ABMDR) who run the "Strength to Give" cheek swab program.
UR the Cure helps blood cancer patients find their lifesaving stem cell match by encouraging people to join the blood stem cell donor registry (also known as the Australian Bone Marrow Donor Registry). Patients with a blood cancer or other type of blood disorder rely on having a stem cell transplant (also known as a bone marrow transplant) as their chance for a cure. This means they need to find a stem cell match. People can voluntarily join the donor registry so doctors can search for lifesaving stem cell matches for their patients. To find the best matches, our work particularly focuses on young males aged 18 to 35 and those with a culturally diverse background to join. UR the Cure is all about saving lives!
Click here to view a summary of our key achievements so far.
-
It can seem a little confusing when there are so many organisations involved, so here is a quick breakdown of who we are and our relationship!
The Australian Bone Marrow Donor Registry (ABMDR) is the peak body that looks after maintaining the database of registered stem cell/bone marrow donors, coordinates the matching process between patients and donors and help to facilitate the stem cell transplants for patients.
“Strength to Give” is the “public friendly” name of the Australian Bone Marrow Donor Registry. Strength to Give is the ABMDR! This arm looks after recruiting people onto the donor registry through campaigns, events and supporting/working with donor recruitment partner organisations.
UR the Cure is a donor recruitment partner organisation of the ABMDR/Strength to Give. It is an independent charity organisation, accredited to recruit donors on behalf of Strength to Give.
Learn about UR the Cure and the stem cell registry in less than 60 seconds!
A message from Pamela, founder of UR the Cure
When my Doctors told me that my last chance to cure my cancer was a stem cell transplant (also known as a bone marrow transplant) it was terrifying to hear.
What was even more terrifying was hearing the words, “it may not be possible because we need to find you a stem cell/bone marrow match and because your background is Lebanese you have less chance of finding a match”.
Ethnicity is an important factor when searching for a match. I wondered how something like my heritage could discriminate so much against me to the point that I might not have the chance to live. It came down to the fact that there are not enough potential donors of Middle Eastern and other ethnic backgrounds registered on the worldwide bone marrow registries for my Doctors to search.
The wait for my match was agonising.
This is why UR the Cure was established – in the hope that no person has to feel the same despair that they may not find their lifesaving match simply because of their ethnic background. Through education and awareness, we can give patients hope, an incredibly important gift when you are facing a life-threatening illness. It’s about giving them the gift of life.
The CURE to some blood cancers is in YOUR BODY. You are the “UR” in the “Cure”!
Pamela
UR the Cure Founder
Pamela before and after her lifesaving stem cell transplant