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.

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.

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 as NFTs. All funds raised go to life-saving treatment for these patients, and further research into rare cancer treatments.

The strategy was to fight cancer using the cancer itself.

Data was gathered using real patient’s living cancer cells which are then photographed using a confocal microscope – creating high resolution three-dimensional images.

The images of tumors were recorded among patients of the National Oncology Institute of Maria Sklodowska-Curie and National Research Institute (branch in Gliwice, Poland) which is a leader in oncology on a national and European scale. Its state-of-the-art equipment and highly qualified staff make it possible to record very detailed images of cancer cells.

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.

Beautiful and powerful images of cancer were 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 unique NFT collection.

For the first time, NFT holders know exactly where their donations are going due to the transparency in blockchain technology. The NFT artwork also becomes the real-life representation of a cause, telling a unique and visually compelling story.

The first cancer images came from Jakub – who suffers from a rare and resistant form of aggressive B-cell lymphoma. Just weeks after Buy My Cancer launched, first NFT collection sold out, Jakub successfully collected 102% of the amount that was needed to start CAR-T treatment (EUR 250 000). Effectively saving his life.

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.

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