Col's passion

Col's passion

Dynamic founder of kids cancer charity shares what keeps him going after 25 years. 

As The Kids' Cancer Project celebrates 25 years, Col Reynolds OAM, shares why he started the charity and what keeps him going.

After several years of voluntarily taking kids with cancer on bus excursions, it really got to me. I couldn't bear to see them suffer; not only from that terrible disease, but also the treatments given to them.

I'm humbled in the knowledge I don't work alone in trying to find better remedies. Your support drives me to continue raising funds and awareness until survival rates are 100 per cent for all types of childhood cancer.

The other thing that keeps me going is all the exciting breakthroughs we have enabled. Associate Professor Christine Hawkins, a scientist we are currently funding, and her team at La Trobe University (Victoria) have opened a door to finding kinder cancer treatments for all young patients.

I find this remarkable, because their study was just meant to be in the area of bone cancer, yet in the search to find better outcomes for kids with osteosarcoma, that team published a paper detailing what lies behind the cruel and severe side effect of current anti-cancer therapies; their ability to stimulate new cancers.

It's another step closer to ensuring our kids won't have to suffer. Plus, she had this to say which I just had to share with you all.

Our funding from The Kids’ Cancer Project generated the exciting data we just published, said Associate Professor Christine Hawkins. This enabled us to successfully apply for further funding. Without that support, we would not have been able to submit such a competitive application.