Dr Luciano Dalla-Pozza has written a letter expressing his pain at being unable to cure all children of cancer and his hope that one day kids will read about the disease in history books.
Dear Reader,
Let’s put Col Reynolds out of a job.
Many years ago when treating children with cancer was much less successful, Col would come to the hospital and organise day trips for our young patients.
I remember telling him that I would trade the trips for better treatments and that we had to invest in medical research.
A quarter of a century on, Col and charity he started are stronger than ever - advocating for better treatments and a cure through research.Yet we are still failing. Granted, we've come a long way. From a disease that was once uniformly fatal, a majority of children are now cured. We still fail though and children die as a consequence.
Read more: Two families bound by purpose
No one should be satisfied with today’s toxic treatment regimens which may leave some survivors with lingering long-lasting side effects that can affect them later in life as adults.
If you look at any significant disease the world has faced in the past 100 years it's been scientific research that has provided the answers and opened up avenues of hope.
I fully expect that through scientific effort, we’ll be able to treat childhood cancer with less hospital stays and less toxic medicines allowing our young patients to lead fuller, rewarding and productive lives.
While research can take a long time, with enough people investing in it, the answers are within reach and can happen in our lifetime.
I’d like to think children one day will learn about cancer in a history book.
Please, help Col close the doors on The Kids’ Cancer Project and end childhood cancer for good.
Yours sincerely,
Dr Luciano Dalla-Pozza MB BS FRACP
Department Head and a Senior Staff Specialist of the Cancer Centre for Children,
The Children's Hospital at Westmead.
You've read his letter, now watch a video of Dr Luciano's ambition.