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King Pooie Orangutan£16.50
The King Pooie Orangutans have turned out to be a huge hit. It’s never easy to predict how well any of the fundraising items will do and this was no different. When you are predominantly asking the same people to support you over and over again, I take nothing for granted, and every order is appreciated so so much. I have the challenge of trying to guess what is a sensible number of cuddly toys to order, and so far over the last month or so I have placed 4 orders for the orangutans, as the orders have continued to come in. I originally thought that £150 would be a reasonable fundraising target, which was then revised to £250 when sales started to increase in no small part down to my lovely friend Kristine Smith. Now a staggering £400 has been raised for Bowel Cancer UK. 100% of the profits from every sale are donated to the charity.
The photos of King Pooie have been arriving. The opportunities of where you can take him and what you can do with him are endless. As we enter the summer months I really hope that everyone who has bought one will get out and about with King Pooie and send in some wonderful photos.
These cuddly orangutans are a fun way to raise awareness about bowel cancer. It remains the second highest cancer killer in the UK, and worryingly more and more younger people are getting diagnosed. So much more needs to be done to help improve detection rates. There are too many stories, especially from younger patients who have their symptoms ignored by medical professionals until it is too late. There is a need to educate us as a society to talk about this illness and normalise conversations about poo.
Bowel cancer is very treatable when diagnosed early at stage 1. Over 90% of patients will live for more than 5 years. Sadly, with a late diagnosis at stage 4, the long term survival rates plummet to around 10%.
In the UK, 16,800 people die of this terrible disease every year. We need to get this figure down and reduce the amount of pain and misery inflicted upon patients and their families.
However, statistics are numbers, and there are many instances of patients defying their prognosis and living good and happy lives. My own mum was diagnosed in 2012 and died 4 years later in 2016. She might not have defied the odds, but she never let bowel cancer define her in any way. She was able to live her life to the full, right up until the last couple of months.
So, with £400 raised, just how far can the fundraising go? Having surpassed all expectations it’s already kind of bonus territory. Every single order helps Bowel Cancer UK to continue to do their amazing work, and each time a new King Pooie travels to a new home, the opportunity presents itself to raise awareness about bowel cancer.
Thanks to everyone who has already ordered a King Pooie, and to everyone else, what are you waiting for. Together we really can make a difference x
