The third edition of the VHIOVida Festival, which was held on Saturday October 19, in Cabrils, brought together more than 1.000 people.
A festival born in 2022 to raise funds for the VHIO’s Colorectal Cancer Group, specifically to collaborate with colorectal cancer research in young people.
The Vida IrurtzunRules Association
The Vida IrurtzunRules Association was born because of the generosity of the family and friends of Sergi Irurtzun, who was diagnosed with colorectal cancer and who, in his memory, opened this association to continue raising funds for colorectal cancer research.
The association manages two major activities such as the VHIOVida music festival and the TRANSPYR Coast to Coast cycle race, which has a group of cyclists committed to research.
The association’s objectives are to inform about the prevention and treatment of cancer, with special emphasis on colorectal cancer, to generate spaces for dissemination and awareness related to this cancer, and to raise funds for research centres in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of this disease.
During the VHIOVida Festival, concerts were given by different musical groups that collaborated in solidarity with the festival, such as Curly Blue Rock, Laura Andrés, Carla Dance, Corazón Masculino de Barcelona, Noviembre Rock Band, The New Raemon and Al·lèrgiques al pol·len.
In short, it offered a space for solidarity participation open to all ages around music, workshops, and activities that raised 19.604.30€ in this third edition.
At the festival, Dr. Elena Élez, head of VHIO’s Colorectal Cancer Group, thanked the organizers and all those present for their commitment to continue collaborating on research into this type of cancer:
“Without initiatives like this festival, we would not have been able to make progress in research into this disease because the resources we have are really limited. Everything is welcome and everything adds up”, explained Dr. Élez.
And she added: “Thank you very much to all of you for organizing a festival like this and for giving visibility to colorectal cancer!”
Carles Deulofeu, member of Asociación Vida IrurtzunRules commented:
“On behalf of the association, we want to thank Dr. Elez for coming and all the people who came here to support us and all the collaborators for helping with this initiative”.
The importance of colorectal cancer research
Colon cancer is the third most diagnosed type of cancer worldwide, according to statistics for the year 2022 from the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO). And, in Spain, 28,465 new cases of colon cancer and 14,256 rectal cancers are expected to be diagnosed by 2023, according to SEOM figures.
From Vall d’Hebron Institute of Oncology, we would like to thank the VHIOVida Festival for their dedication and effort to continue collaborating with colorectal cancer research in our institution.
