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The recent QLD Long Lunch, hosted by Fortitude Valley’s Calile Hotel, was The Kids’ Cancer Project’s final foray in Queensland for 2025. Selling out in record time, those in attendance helped to raise a total of $26,000 for childhood cancer research.
Col Reynolds Fellow, Rachel Edwards, detailed the advancements in treatments she’s witnessed in her 30 years as a nurse to the crowd, additionally outlining how funding allows her research to continue, mitigating distress for kids undergoing bone marrow transplant.
“When I started nursing 30 years ago, chemotherapy made patients vomit for days on end, sometimes weeks. They’d lose weight, become unable to eat or drink, and often needed hospitalisation, but research advances and new drug discoveries have made this a thing of the past,” she says.
“The funding I receive from The Kids’ Cancer Project means I can take the results of my pilot study and make a real change in the clinical world, implementing this patient screening tool as part of routine care and expanding the nursing training program to a national level.
Rachel was followed by The Kids’ Cancer Project Board Director, Shane Sibraa, who retold the story of his daughter Ariane’s struggle with brain cancer.
Ariane’s complications began with headaches and the inability to smile or use her fingers correctly when playing the piano. After collapsing, she was rushed to hospital, where a CT scan showed pressure on the brain.
Sitting outside experiencing ‘all those terrible thoughts’, as they waited for a diagnosis, Shane and his wife were told their daughter had a low-grade pilocytic astrocytoma. Shane described that day to those in the audience as brutal.
“Your life is just turned upside down. Nothing else really matters,” he says.
“You’re at the mercy of what the doctors tell you. You just start living day by day, tackling whatever’s in front of you.
“When your child is diagnosed with cancer, it’s a world you don’t know exists until you’re in it.
"And once you’re in it, you’re really in it. You become so obsessed with your particular strain, which for us was pilocytic astrocytoma.
As Ariane’s brain grew, the tumour became cystic. Applying for an exemption to come into Australia during lockdown, followed by five weeks of quarantine, the nine-hour marathon surgery to remove the tumour was a “absolute miracle”, as Shane puts it. Ariane’s mobility improved out of sight. Ariane has now been tumour free for the past four years, undergoing 12 surgeries to improve her mobility.
“Our journey with The Kids’ Cancer Project started with the bears,” Shane fondly recalls.
“We received a bear in Melbourne, and I can’t remember the last time we smiled or felt any kind of joy before that. But somehow, we did, because of that bear.
“It amazes me there isn’t more government funding for childhood cancer research. It takes charities like The Kids’ Cancer Project and others to keep research alive.
The Kids’ Cancer Project would like to thank its Sponsors Bouquet Boutique and Pretty the Party for making The Long Lunch QLD possible in 2025, as well as Prize Sponsors The Calile Hotel, KAILO, Gemelli Italian, BSR Group / Betta, Rokstar Salon, The Cloakroom, Mister Zimi, Samantha Ogilvie, Stephanie's Day Spa and Brookwater Golf & Country Club.
As the curtain falls on its events program in the sunshine state, The Kids’ Cancer Project would like to thank each of the attendees that have made such a big impact via the charity’s Queensland-based events.
An inaugural Golf Day, sophomore Long Lunch and third-party events including the Air Conditioning and Mechanical Contractors Association’s (AMCA) conference, a networking evening at Evans & Partners, plus a new Corporate Partnership forged with BSR Group has helped to raise over $300,000 for childhood cancer research.
To give you an idea, $300,000 is the equivalent of what it costs to support a comprehensive, long-term follow-up program for 60 children who have completed cancer treatment, ensuring they receive the necessary ongoing medical care and psychological support.
The evolution of both the events and engagement of The Kids’ Cancer Project’s supporters in Queensland is part of a wider Corporate Partnerships strategy to complement the innovative research projects funded both in QLD and nationwide.
“The Kids’ Cancer Project is a national entity and the impact and interest of our supporters in Queensland speaks to that. They’re engaged and willing to fund vital research that will make a difference in the lives of kids with cancer sooner,” Head of Partnerships, Patrick Phibbs says.
“We’re so grateful to our corporate partners, supporters and event attendees in the sunshine state that have created such a huge impact for kids with cancer everywhere. We can’t wait to see what we achieve together in 2026!”
2026 shapes up as another massive year in QLD for The Kids’ Cancer Project and we can’t wait to see you all again.
Keep an eye on our Events Calendar to see what's in store!
