MAIDEN FAN LAUNCHES BREAST CANCER FUNDRAISING TOUR

An Iron Maiden fan is using the band’s upcoming North American tour to raise money to fight breast cancer.

From Australia Emily, who is battling the disease herself, is to go to 24 gigs,and below explains how she will use this ‘Legacy Of The Breast’ trip for charitable purposes:

“My life has been profoundly affected by breast cancer. I’ve lost my mother, aunt, and grandmother to the disease and have myself tested positive for the genetic mutation BRCA-1, leaving me at a significantly heightened risk. Fortunately for me, I live in a country that offers radical measures to prevent the very likely chance of developing breast cancer — a preventative double mastectomy — which I will be having in the not-so-distant future.

“Given my impending surgical procedure, I have embarked on a kind-of “last hurrah” where I do certain things with my breasts for the last time before they are permanently removed. This is where Iron Maiden comes in.

“After seeing Iron Maiden, my favourite band, on the ‘Legacy of the Beast’ tour in 2018, the show was so bloody spectacular I needed to see them again. And again. Before I knew it, I ended up with twenty-four concert tickets booked across the USA and Canada as well as many months of anticipation and planning ahead of me. I knew this would be the last time my boobs and I would see Iron Maiden together, so I wanted to do it properly.

“After friends got over their initial shock, many suggested I set up a travel blog so they could follow this two-month spectacle. Whilst I thought that was a great idea, I also wanted to do something more worthwhile – that’s when I recalled my lament of the many women in the world who don’t have access to preventative medical treatment.

“So, I decided to create this fundraiser for women in Peru — a country I hold very dear to my heart. I’ve been fortunate enough to travel to Peru on four occasions and each time my love and bond with the country and its people has grown more deep-rooted. In Peru, breast cancer incidences are on the rise and the standard tools for detecting it are rarely available to most women. Sadly, this means that over 75% of Peruvian women who are diagnosed with breast cancer find out after the disease has progressed to stage 3 or beyond — when treatment is more expensive and less effective.

“This fundraiser is in collaboration with Club de la Mama INEN Neoplásicas, a volunteer organisation that offers support to Peruvian breast cancer patients such as paying for lodging while they are being treated, social activities, wigs, and other expenses. I am honoured to be cooperating with a non-profit organisation which provides so much help to women in dire straits. ”

You can donate here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/legacyofthebreast