12 Hour snookerthon to raise funds for Eastbourne 20 year old

Luke receiving the first month's medication from the Royal Marsden Hospital in Sutton last week. The medication is costing nearly £8000 per month

Two well known local snooker players are aiming to raise funds for an Eastbourne youngster who is undergoing a treatment not yet available on the NHS.

The event is taking place at the Glastonbury Hotel on Saturday 3 June between 11am and 11pm. Matthew Bray and Martin Holmes will be taking on all comers in a bid to help the funding of a new medication which is currently only available in America.

Luke Bailey was diagnosed with a rare form of leukaemia in December 2020 at the age of 17.

After undergoing months of chemotherapy it was decided that his best chance of long term cure was to have a bone marrow transplant which took place in July 2021.

Although the transplant initially appeared to be successful, Luke developed Graft Versus Host disease at the beginning of 2022.

This is a rare complication following a transplant and occurs where the donor cells attack the body.

In Luke's case this has caused a huge deterioration in his lung function and he is reliant on oxygen 24 hours a day and struggles to walk more than a few metres without rest.

The new medication is the only drug that has shown to reverse the affects of this life limiting illness.