NEWS

The seventh edition of ONCOSWIM, the open water swimming charity journey organized by Radikal Swim and the Oncolliga Girona Foundation, has managed to raise more than 70,000 euros, in addition to the donations from the participants in the Solidarity Mile. In total, this edition has added a total of 74,090 euros, a figure somewhat lower than last year, although there have also been 10 fewer teams registered. Of these, 70% (51,863 euros) will go to research on triple negative breast cancer carried out by the Research Group on New Therapeutic Targets (TargetsLab) of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Girona, in close cooperation with the Catalan Institute of Oncology (ICO) and the Dr. Josep Trueta Hospital. The other 30% (22,227 euros) will be used to help support the help and support services for cancer patients and their families carried out by Oncolliga Foundation.

A hundred swimmers divided into 24 teams have joined this demanding sporting challenge this year, which consists of swimming 30km in open water, from Estartit to Calella de Palafrugell, passing through the Medes Islands and the Formigues Islands. In addition, 160 people have joined the most popular version of this initiative, the Solidarity Mile, swimming from Llafranc beach to Port Bo (1.6 km).

The day has developed without incidents and has been marked by good weather and the good state of the sea. The teams have left Estartit in stages since 07:00. until 7:30 a.m. in the morning, at 5-minute intervals, and the first ones have been arriving at Calau beach, in Calella de Palafrugell, starting at three in the afternoon. However, the headwind and the sea current played a trick on some of the teams, who were advancing very slowly, so they were given the option of reducing the distance in order to arrive within the hour. limit set by the organization.

Some teams have done the entire journey swimming together, while others have been doing relays. All the teams have been accompanied at all times by a support boat. The journey could be followed live through the link to the event website, www.oncoswim.cat. At 4:30 p.m. the start of the Solidarity Mile took place, on the Llafranc beach, which has led to the arrival of the participants in this unpopular event coinciding with that of the last Oncoswim teams.

Emotional moments

Oncoswim is always a very emotional event, but this year it was especially so, especially at the finish, where the participants received the finisher medal from triple-negative breast cancer patients who are members of the Las Triples Association. Members of the research team financed with Oncoswim donations, such as Teresa Puig, a doctor in biochemistry, and Ariadna Roqué, an oncologist, have also participated in the awarding of medals.

The moments of the departure, both of the Solidarity Mile and of Oncoswim, were also especially emotional, when a minute of silence was held in memory of people affected by cancer while the melody of "Hallelujah" sounded.

More than 250,000 euros for research

ONCOSWIM has been committed since the first edition, in 2016, to the investigation of triple negative breast cancer, a very aggressive subtype of cancer that mainly affects young women and represents 20% of all diagnosed breast cancers . The donations are used to finance research carried out by TargetsLab, a multidisciplinary team of researchers from the University of Girona (UdG), the Catalan Institute of Oncology - ICO Girona and the Dr. Josep Trueta Hospital, led by the doctor in biochemistry Teresa Puig and the oncologist Gemma Viñas. In total, with the seven editions held so far, ONCOSWIM has financed this line of research with more than 250,000 euros.

The money obtained has been used to buy different devices for the laboratories of the research group, whose acquisition has boosted research and reduced unnecessary travel for researchers, thus speeding up the research process. Reagents and other laboratory material have also been purchased and a portion has been allocated to support the publications resulting from the research.

The first preliminary results of the study on triple negative breast cancer in chemoresistant patients carried out by TargetsLab have been presented this May at the International European Congress of Breast Cancer held in Berlin.

Many thanks to everyone for making it possible!

Huge thanks to the participating teams, the swimmers of the Solidarity Mile, skippers, volunteers, sea safety, kayakers and everyone who has made it possible for another year. TOGETHER AGAINST CANCER