Weekend of awareness a big success

Xeroderma Pigmentosum relates to those suffering from a rare condition which makes them allergic to daylight. Sunlight can have a disastrous effect, sometimes blistering the skin and even causing skin cancer.
This year XP activisits turned the car park at the camp destination into a miniature fun fair - the prevailing theme of the weekend having been the circus.
"There were all sorts of rides available, it was brilliant, " said Mrs Webb, from Strawberry Close, Prestwood, who founded the registered charity, the XP Support Group, from her home in 1999.
Mrs Webb's teenage son, Alex, suffers from XP and the garden at their village base has been especially adapted to meet his ongoing needs.
This year a total of 93 guests, including 33 children, took part in the owl patrol weekend, the lynchpin of the XP group's yearly activities.
Professor Alan Lehmann, an expert in XP, spoke to participants about the genetics of XP, and there was a special inter-active session with Paul Nghiem (correct) from the University of Washington State in Seattle. Apparently, it has been discovered that caffeine can inhibit the development of skin cancer, and Mr Nghiem is leading a Stateside development project about that.
The XP Group has appointed Kate Middleton and Christine Johnson as peer counsellors, Alan Jakovac as press officer, and Khalid Hussain as Asian community support worker.
The date of the ninth annual owl patrol has been fixed for Friday, February 12, 2010. Discussions are ongoing about holding an international conference in Florida during October 2010.