Imagine if the cure for cancer rested, not in a chemical test tube, but in your travel luggage.

Trips for Cancer is a special campaign that aims to raise money for cancer research by auctioning off luxury vacations to all parts of the world.

The project is Florida-based, but Bermudian travellers are welcome to participate, organiser Stacy Small told The Royal Gazette in a telephone interview. Ms Small runs the Elite Travel International agency in Palm Beach, Florida.

“Trips for Cancer is something I launched last year for the first time,” Ms Small said. “Every year, the Leukaemia and Lymphoma Society hold a contest called the Man and Woman of the Year.”

The contest encourages participants to come up with their own creative way to raise money for cancer. It also looks for contestants with two personal qualities: zeal and humanity.

“I wanted to bring together what I do for a living, which is sell luxury travel (and cancer fundraising),” said Ms Small.

“My idea was to create an online travel auction. It came about by going to a lot of my contacts in the travel industry. I requested they work with me to donate stays. Continental Airlines came on board as a sponsor. They are really great. We put together great trips with airfare included. Then we gave people the opportunity to bid on these different trips.”

Ms Small went on to raise around $84,000, and won the Leukaemia and Lymphoma Society’s National Woman of the Year title for that year.

“It was such a success it spurred me on to want to make this an annual campaign,” said Ms Small. “This year the proceeds will all be donated to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. My mother is a two-time breast cancer survivor. She had breast cancer ten years ago and was re-diagnosed a year and a half ago. So I have lived with and seen the horrible effects over the last 11 years. My dad passed away last year after a long battle with cancer. The whole cancer thing has had a tremendous impact on my family.”

The Breast Cancer Research Foundation is headed up by Evelyn H. Lauder, daughter-in-law of Estée Lauder. The organisation raised $27 million for breast cancer research last year.

“What I like about this organisation is that 89 percent of funds raised go straight to breast cancer research,” said Ms Small.

This year, 50 to 60 hotels have donated stays to luxury hotels all over the world, from South Africa to Dubai, from Miami to New York. Ms Small is still working to get Bermudian hotels and organisations onboard.

She thought trips to Miami or New York might particularly appeal to Bermudian travellers as there are direct flights from the Island to these destinations.

“We have three different hotels in New York,” she said. “There is the hip boutique in the meatpacking district called the Hotel Gansevoort. They have donated two nights in a suite. It is great for anyone who wants a hip, happening hotel in New York. Other hotels in New York include the Hotel Plaza Athenee and the Pierre Hotel. These are luxury hotels. I also have a quick trip on auction to the Mandarin Oriental in Miami, Florida.”

There are also trips to Spain, Switzerland, Jamaica, Anguilla, St. Barts, Germany, Italy and many other destinations.

“Each trip is unique,” Ms Small said. “Some include breakfast, some include meals, some have airport transfers, safaris and spa treatments. They can also be coupled with a longer vacation. There are trips from two to six nights.”

Bids can start as low as $500, but go much higher. To bid, people can go to the Elite Travel International online website at http://www.elitetravelinternational.com/trips_for_cancer2007.html.

“People really get into it,” Ms Small said. “You can see what the current bid is. People will be notified if they win. If you go to the site now, it links to all of the hotel sites. You can get an idea of the quality and level of the hotels on offer. A lot of the hotels donate to different charities, but this is the first time there has been such a collective effort by the luxury travel arena to come together for something like this.”

She said last year the popularity of the travel auction basically spread by word of mouth, and this year, people have been calling and asking when it will start again. This year, Ms Small hopes to raise between $50,000 to $100,000 for breast cancer research.

Ms Small has been running Elite Travel International for two and a half years. She was also a travel writer for 15 years and was editor of Elite Travel Magazine. She has been to Bermuda many times.

For more information about the Leukaemia and Lymphoma Society go to http://www.Leukemia-lymphoma.org. Go to http://www.bcrfcure.org/ for information about the Breast Cancer Research Foundtion or go to www.elitetravelinternational.com for more information about Ms Small and her business.