Totana joined the challenge promoted by the delegation of the Spanish Association Against Cancer (AECC) in this town called "We support Pablo and you? ...", which was intended to raise funds to support funds for patients with neuroblastoma, a cancer in children.
The initiative consisted in carrying out a march on foot for three days that will cover 150 kilometers, from Cieza to Totana: the first stage will be Cieza-Archena, the second Archena-Alcantarilla and the third and last Alcantarilla-Totana.
The initiative aimed to make this disease visible in society and raise funds and collaborate with the Association of Relatives and Friends of Patients with Neuroblastoma (Nen) to encourage research into this uncommon pathology of the sympathetic nervous system.
Neuroblastoma is a disease in which malignant (cancer) cells form from neuroblasts (immature nerve tissue) of the adrenal gland, neck, chest, or spinal cord.
It is the third most frequent tumor during the first two years of life, and after tumors of the central nervous system as a whole, the most frequent solid tumor of the child, representing 8-10% of pediatric tumors and diagnosing about 50 new cases every year in Spain.
All the effort of this association lies in the research and in 2017 five lines of research were supported in different Spanish hospitals with more than 60,000 euros of resources from solidarity events.
The challenge was that a group of four residents of Totana traveled for three days the municipalities of Cieza, Abarán, Blanca, Ricote, Ojós, Ulea, Villanueva del Segura, Archena, Lorquí, Ceuta, Alguazas, Las Torres de Cotillas, Molina de Segura, Alcantarilla, Librilla, Alhama de Murcia and Totana with the aim of raising as much money as possible for the "Pablo Challenge".
Pablo is a five year old boy, resident in Albacete, who when he was 2 years and nine months old was diagnosed with stage IV disease, being one of the lowest surviving pediatric tumors.
