Buy My Cancer is a unique NFT series made using real living cancer cells, to fund treatment for those suffering from these cancers.

The project uses the existing type of media in a way that has not been used before.

For the first time, the very popular NFT format was used to save human lives. Forbes magazine even wrote that this project gave meaning to the existence of NFT.

Cancer remains one of the world’s biggest killers. Accounting for nearly 1 in 6 deaths worldwide. But while many cancers can now be cured, the cost of treatment can be astronomical. Especially when it comes to rare cancers. Typically, a huge amount of funds is needed in a very short time (for example, 250,000 Euros in one month) which is too expensive for most patients in Eastern Europe. We looked to see if there was a way to effectively and repeatably collect such vast amounts of money.

At the same time, with the development of blockchain technology, NFTs have seen a huge surge in popularity. In 2022, still nearly $41billion of crypto was spent on NFT marketplaces. However, most of these NFTs serve little purpose beyond proving the owner possesses something rare. Could rare NFTs be used to fund treatment for rare cancers?

Buy My Cancer is an innovative funding model designed to help cover the costly treatment of rare cancers. Turning real patients’ living cancer cells into beautiful and powerful pieces of art, which are then auctioned. All funds raised go to life-saving treatment for these patients, and further research into rare cancer treatments.

We used data from medical research to help cancer patients use their own cancer cells to fight the cancer. By using the confocal microscope in the National Institute of Oncology in Gliwice we were able to capture powerful images of patients’ own living cancer cells.

These microscopic photographs were then transformed into powerful pieces of art and sold as NFTs to fund the vital CAR-T cell therapy treatment required to battle these rare forms of cancer.

NFTs have seen a huge surge in popularity. In 2022, still nearly $41billion of crypto was spent on NFT marketplaces. However, most of these NFTs serve little purpose beyond proving the owner possesses something rare.

Strategy here is to fight cancer using the cancer itself. We created a unique NFT series made using real living cancer cells, to fund treatment for those suffering from these cancers.

To generate the funds, we targeted the message to very specific audiences: serious art collectors and tech-savvy disposable income earners looking to invest in NFTs with an actual purpose.

We used a the power of the unique content and full funnel

approach to reach people interested in charity and NFTs

in the US. We chose US as the most advanced market if it comes

to NFTs.

A real patient’s living cancer cells are photographed using a confocal microscope – creating high resolution three-dimensional images. These beautiful and powerful images are then transformed into pieces of art, minted into NFT collections, put up for auction, and advertised to collectors through social media and PR.

Once the collection has been sold, and the proceeds have gone on to fund the patient’s life-saving cancer treatment, the process begins again with a new patient. And so on and so on, continually saving lives with each new and unique NFT collection.

These NFT collections are put up for auction at the largest NFT galleries (OpenSea, VAST) and advertised through social media, events and PR. All the project communication is also based on the use of images of living cancer cells from real patients who are currently fighting these cancers.

Just weeks after Buy My Cancer launched, first NFT collection sold out, and Jakub the first patient successfully collected 102% of the amount that was needed to start CAR-T treatment (EUR 250 000). Effectively saving his life. Ad Recall was +7.7 pts (Vertical Benchmark: +4.2 pts), brand awareness: +3.6 pts (Vertical Benchmark: +3.2 pts).

Forbes wrote that Buy My Cancer brings purpose to the NFT format. Before the project existed, there were also no laws covering fundraising using NFTs. Our lawyers created a proposition that was submitted and approved by the Polish Ministry of Finance. We shared this legal proposition on GitHub to help facilitate the creation of the future NFT and crypto fundraising projects.

Project was discussed by members of the EU Parliament and top Oncologists at the 8th International Oncology Forum in Brussels, organized by The Economist. It was named a “new hope” for funding cancer treatment globally.

Cancer is a very serious and often deadly disease. However, looking at the results of imaging studies, you can see that its cells create amazing images. Very often they look like finished works of art, like something that is a product of culture.

By combining medicine and art, we found a solution to how cancer can finance its own treatment.