Star DJ and house music pioneer Sasha to play intimate gig to help his dad speed up research into rare cancers

On Saturday 2nd July Sasha, will be taking a break from his current world tour to play a sell-out gig at the Gazelle Hotel in Anglesey, in aid of a cause close to his heart. His dad, Steve Coe, who has supported him throughout his career and been one of his greatest champions, was diagnosed with a rare cancer last year. Having previously raised funds for UNICEF by organising fundraising gigs with some of the world's biggest DJs, Steve is now turning his talents to raising awareness and funding for a UK health tech start up, RareCan.

“RareCan is a really interesting example of how commercial enterprise can be used to tackle thorny problems. It is a business with a massively important social purpose at its heart, and that’s why I’m doing everything I can to help it grow.” Steve Coe.

Over 500,000 people in the UK are living with a rare cancer like Steve. Sadly, because these cancers are rare, less research has been conducted to understand them, there tend to be fewer treatment options and, as a result, survival rates for those affected are worse. The 19 most common cancers account for about three quarters of all cancer cases globally, while the 180 different types of rare cancers cause the other quarter. Yet despite the hundreds of thousands of people affected by rare cancers, those diagnosed are 50% more likely to die within five years than people with a common cancer.

RareCan was founded to change this. It is a direct-to-patient clinical trial recruitment platform bringing the power of patients and data together to accelerate rare cancer research. By making the UK a better place to do rare cancer research, RareCan aims to speed up discovery of new treatments and improve the chances of people diagnosed with rare cancers.

“We believe people with rare cancers should have the same opportunities for treatment and expect the same chances of surviving as people with common cancers.” Piers Kotting, CEO and founder of RareCan.

This resonates strongly with Steve and Sasha, having experienced what it is like to have a rarer form of cancer first hand. By playing the sunset gig on the stunning north coast of Wales, Sasha and Steve hope to raise awareness of RareCan and its crowdfunding campaign so that the company can grow more quickly and help speed up research into rare cancers.

RareCan’s crowdfunding campaign on Crowdcube has received lots of interest, but more funding is needed to grow its team and increase the number of people with rare cancers signing up. You can support the crowdfunding campaign at www.crowdcube.com/rarercan; and if you are living with a rare cancer you can sign up to RareCan a www.rarecan,com.

Photos of the gig to be provided on 3rd July.

Alexander Coe (Sasha) is available for pre-recorded interview.

Alexander Coe, known professionally as Sasha, is a Welsh DJ and record producer. He is best known for his live events and electronic music as a solo artist, as well as his collaborations with British DJ John Digweed as Sasha & John Digweed. He was voted as World No.⁠ ⁠1 DJ in 2000 in a poll conducted by DJ Magazine. He is a four-time International Dance Music Awards winner, four-time DJ Awards winner and Grammy Award nominee.

Steve Coe is available for live and pre-recorded interview

Steve Coe was diagnosed with neuroendocrine cancer in 2021

Piers Kotting is available for live and pre-recorded interview

Piers was a Research Delivery and Programme Director at the National Institute for Health Research. He is an alumnus of the NHS Innovation Accelerator and Gateway to Leadership programmes, and an Honorary Associate Professor of Healthcare Innovation and Commercialisation at the University of Exeter. Piers has an MBA and previously set up Join Dementia Research which has helped over 60,000 people join clinical studies since 2015.

RareCan Limited is a UK-based start up aiming to revolutionise research into rarer forms of cancer. Founded in August 2020 by 4 people with a combination of personal experience with rare cancers and of the frustrations of the difficulties in recruiting enough people to deliver effective clinical trials, RareCan is a direct-to-patient clinical trial recruitment platform bringing the power of patients and data together to reduce the costs and risks of rare cancer trials for the global pharmaceutical industry.

The Gazelle Pub, Restaurant & Rooms, situated at Glyn Garth on the shore of the Menai Straits with panoramic views across the straits to Bangor Pier and the Snowdonia Range beyond, is renowned for its quality food, with a focus on local seasonal produce & a fresh selection of Seafood. The Gazelle is part of Robinsons, the independent family brewer which owns a collection of around 260 pubs, inns and hotels across the North West and North Wales.