Eleven young cousins have given the money they would have normally spent on Christmas presents for one another to an appeal to purchase a state-of-the-art digital mammography machine for Bermuda to help better detect breast cancer.

The Outerbridge cousins, together with three other friends, have put their Christmas money into a $1,500 pot that is to be given to the Bermuda TB, Cancer and Health Association for its fundraising push to raise $700,000 in order to purchase two digital mammography machines for the Island.

Explaining the decision by the young cousins, Lisa Outerbridge said: ?In lieu of Christmas gifts to exchange to one another they decided to donate the money they would have spent instead to the appeal.?

The cousins ? Graham, Annie, Ted, Patricia, Blaine, Ashley, Nina, Robin, Sam, Ali and Michael ? were together for the festive period before many of them headed back to schools overseas.

They were joined by Mary and Richard Kitson and Julian Wood who also put money intended for Christmas presents into a donation to go to the Bermuda TB, Cancer and Health Association appeal. The Association hopes to buy two of the machines that will be used to better and earlier detect breast cancers and allow treatment to be commenced in patients at an earlier stage when there is a higher chance of success.