Childhood Cancer: Cyprus and Greece unite their voices from Mount Olympus.
The successful expedition of the ELPIDA Foundation to mythical Mount Olympus unites both countries with a message that knows no borders: Every child deserves the chance to be cured.
The stark reality calls for action:
85% cure rate for children with cancer in developed countries
Less than 30% in most countries where the majority of the world's children with cancer live
We cannot remain indifferent. Continuous action is needed in every possible way.
The demanding ascent of mythical Mount Olympus was completed successfully.
The mission of the ELPIDA Foundation had a clear purpose: To raise our voice even higher for children and adolescents with cancer during Gold September, the international awareness month for childhood cancer.
The Cypriot team—consisting of Professor Loizos G. Loizou, Elena Lena, Elina Ioannou, Andreas Antoniou, and Savvas Adamou—completed the challenging and arduous climb under the guidance of experienced Greek mountain guide Dimitris Lanaris from Elassona.
Every step of the ascent served a deeper purpose:
To carry a message for children and adolescents with cancer and their families, who face far more difficult battles every single day
The mission's message is clear:
Through strength, perseverance, international collaboration, dedication to science, love, and hope, we can offer the gift of a cure to more and more children facing cancer.
The endeavor on Mount Olympus connects to a much broader initiative:
Through the Cyprus International Action Plan for Children and Adolescents with Cancer (Cy-IAPCC), Cyprus is steadily expanding its international humanitarian contribution by providing medicines, expertise, and training for healthcare professionals—especially in countries where shortages are acute and cure rates remain dangerously low.
Cyprus may be a small country, but it can make a substantial humanitarian and scientific impact. While providing exceptional care for its own children, it can simultaneously contribute to the global effort so that where a child is born does not dictate their chances of surviving cancer.
As Professor Loizos G. Loizou, President of the ELPIDA Foundation, emphasized:
"Mythical Mount Olympus was, for us, a symbolic summit of victory. However, the true victory will be a world where no child with cancer is denied the chance to be cured."
One summit has been conquered.
The fight, however, continues.
Every child with cancer, wherever they may be, deserves the chance to be cured.
Strength + Love = HOPE
ELPIDA Foundation for Children with Cancer and Leukemia
For more information: +357 99 660662 | www.elpida-cy.org
