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At the bedside, clinicians are asked many a question, from both childhood cancer patients and their families.
If there’s a question Dr Emmy Fleuren is constantly asked, it’s this:
‘Why am I still being treated with a protocol from the 90s? It’s ridiculous.’
“And they’re right. It is ridiculous. I’ve never really had an answer to that,” she reflects.
“Hearing that question so often is why I want to make life better, ultimately, for these patients."
That nagging question has led Dr Fleuren across the world, leaving her native Netherlands for London, then onto Melbourne, and finally to Sydney, where she operates the only sarcoma-focused laboratory in the country – the Sarcoma Biology and Therapeutics Group, based at the Children’s Cancer Institute.
Sarcoma is rare, so rare that Emmy had never heard of it until she was treating patients asking her the same question during her PhD. So rare that children like Alec Austen were subjected to archaic treatments.
So rare that we’re funding innovative treatments to make a difference for sarcoma patients sooner this K’day.
“Sarcoma is a very difficult type of cancer to treat. It disproportionately affects young people, and I desperately want to do better for these patients,” she says.
“Everything we do in my group is centred around this one common goal – finding better treatments for young patients who are currently missing out.”
Emmy is our official K’day Research Ambassador for 2026. A direct beneficiary of the funds generously donated by the wider community, she is quick to point out the need to educate the wider community of the long game at hand.
“The time it takes to do research is often underestimated. It’s difficult to see what goes on behind the scenes in the lab, and experiments can take a long time.
“Childhood cancers are very different from adult cancers. No two tumours are the same so they can respond very differently to therapies. For us to be able to create complex 3D models, analyse tumours and then build data to convince clinicians to begin trialling new treatments – that can take several years.
“For every child patient we see, we need to start a new investigation to truly find out what is driving the growth of that particular tumour in that particular child. There is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach, which is why it takes so much time and effort for researchers and our goal of ultimately finding something that works for every patient.
Dr Fleuren knows the importance of funding and the difference the generosity of donors makes when researching kinder and more effective treatments for young patients.
“The Kids’ Cancer Project and their community have been terrific to me. Their enthusiasm and drive towards achieving better outcomes for children with cancer, coupled with my team’s research makes us a perfect match. We simply couldn’t do this work without their support and funding.
“I love my work, and I love that The Kids’ Cancer Project and K’day donors are giving to support research that will increase the survival rates for young patients.
“It feels very special to receive funding from people I may never have the chance to meet. Everything my group does is independently funded, so their support directly fuels this research. I can’t do my work without it — their contributions are what make this life-saving research possible, even if we never meet. I rely on it completely.”
To make a donation, or for more information about K’day, hit the button below.
