Launching Childhood Cancer Awareness Month with inspiring Family Ambassadors – Children’s Cancer Institute

Children’s Cancer Institute shared the following post on LinkedIn:

“We had the honour of launching Childhood Cancer Awareness Month in September with an incredible evening shared with over 50 of our inspiring Family Ambassadors.

Hosted by our Family Relationships Lead, Faye Hollands, the day started with a lab tour for 10 parents who had the chance to go behind the scenes to see first-hand how researchers are working to help their children.

As the sun set, more families gathered for a beautiful event where we were lucky enough to have fellow oncology parent and co-founder of Children’s Cancer Institute, Jack Kasses, join us.

Jack’s daughter Helen was diagnosed with leukaemia in 1974. He met another oncology dad, John Lough, and his son Robbie—and together, they started what is now known as Children’s Cancer Institute, Australia’s ONLY independent medical research facility wholeheartedly dedicated to childhood cancer.

We were also lucky to have childhood cancer survivor, Ashleigh Larkin, share her story. Ash was diagnosed with rhabdomyosarcoma at just 2 years old, and her family has been supporters of the institute since that time—now 27 years ago.

Then, Faye interviewed a wonderful panel of inspiring Ambassadors—Kath Wakelin, founder of Levi’s Project who has raised over $5.5M for DIPG research; Angus Olsen, creative genius behind I Draw Childhood Cancer; and Kimberly Dias, leukaemia survivor, and now a Clinical Curation Scientist in the ZERO Childhood Cancer Precision Medicine Program.

There were tears, there were countless nods of understanding and there was a palpable energy in the room that we CAN make a change. That we ARE making a change.

There is still so much more to be done to stop children’s lives from being devastated by cancer, but together we’ll continue to push boundaries and make a difference for the families of today, and the future.

This Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, please donate to help fund the incredible research that’s underway right now at Children’s Cancer Institute and help us to find better treatment options, and ultimately a CURE for all children with cancer.

A life should be long.

Donate today.”

Source: Children’s Cancer Institute/LinkedIn