The Cancer Treatment Foundation the 'Gift of Life' received nearly 180,000 euros in donations in May. We paid 242,000 euros in medical bills in the course of the month. Since there are many people in need, more money has been going out of the foundation than has been coming in. The following is a summary of the foundation's work and activities in May.

During the month the foundation’s Supervisory Board decided to support the medical treatment of 25 people. In addition, the treatment of dozens of people which started earlier is ongoing. The great need for the foundation’s help peaked by the start of June: incoming applications multiplied from an average of one per day to 2-3 per day. As such, we are faced the question of whether the foundation can continue to provide essential care for all those in need. Thank you to all those who are already our permanent benefactors. We invite everyone else to lend a helping hand, because even the smallest amount can save someone's life.

May was mainly about preparing for the Charity Duck Race. The biggest charity event in Estonia, the race took place in Kadriorg Park on 8 June. It was held for the 6th time in support of children diagnosed with cancer and their families. We helped the main organiser of the event, the Estonian Association of Parents of Children with Cancer (EAPCC), organise the race along with the charity foundation Minu Unistuste Päev (My Dream Day).

We contributed to the planning of the event, helped promote and advertise it, raised donations during the race and put together a charity waffle cafe in cooperation with Vahvlihaldjad. According to initial data, this year’s Charity Duck Race made over 250,000 euros – a record amount. A sixth of this year's revenue from the race will go to the Cancer Treatment Foundation.

In addition, we collected donations at the Vanamõisa, Luige and Jäneda fairs, in Nõmme, Stockmann, the Port Artur 2 shopping centre, Tartu Kaubamaja, Kuusalu Coop grocery store, Europe Day on Freedom Square, the Estonian Basketball Championship final games, the Latitude 59 conference, Türi Flower Fair, Kalamaja Days, Tanel Padar’s concerts, Old Town Days, the Beautiful Concerts in Käsmu, Kapa Festival and in many other places in May.

Early in the month we visited the Arvo Pärt Centre in Laulasmaa with volunteers from the foundation. We had a great tour there, and also had the chance to meet the maestro himself. Our volunteer Kaisa Sein knitted a pair of woollen socks as a gift for Pärt.

On 6 May, a fundraiser was held in Värska, where the Nedsaja Küla Bänd and Jalmar and Sandra Vabarna played music. There, Lieutenant General Johannes Kert gave a speech commemorating his daughter, whom he lost to cancer and who the Cancer Treatment Foundation had the opportunity to support for a short time.

We have had the chance to support many people, to whom the foundation has gifted valuable days of life. One example is Irene Amur, who we have been supporting since 2017. This 47-year-old mother and grandmother thanks the benefactors for their support. Her medical treatment costs nearly 6000 euros a month.

At the Estonian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Spring Ball at the Hilton Hotel, entrepreneurs donated nearly 3700 euros in support of cancer patients. We also held charity auctions at which we auctioned pop artist Nublu's fan merchandise and flight tickets from Nordica.

You can now order all kinds of plumbing services from TS Pipe. The company's project manager Timo Pals says: “We’re a small family company and we decided to start supporting your praiseworthy work. We’ve only just started, but we hope that our little contribution will help. We decided to start donating one percent of our company's monthly income in support of cancer patients. We made our first donation last month.”

It's worth grabbing a coffee from Carmen Cafe, because of every coffee you buy, 10 cents from the purchase will go in support of cancer patients.

Carmen Cafe coffee shops look forward to seeing you in the Rotermann Quarter in Tallinn (Roseni 5), on Kentmanni Street (Kentmanni 4) and at the Film Museum (Pirita tee 64).

In November, also known as men's health month, a new comedy produced in Estonia will be released: 'The Chuck Band Show'.

The film is about Chuck Berger, a radio DJ in his 40s whose life suddenly goes wrong when he finds himself on the brink of losing both his job and his wife and is diagnosed with testicular cancer. The Cancer Treatment Foundation shook hands with the producers in May in order to draw attention to men's health and to raise donations for men's medical treatment.

We drew a line under 2018. Our annual report was audited by Deloitte and submitted to the Commercial Register. The report can be read here.