Posted On: September 11, 2018
When Jane’s two-year-old son, Thomas, was diagnosed with cancer in 2016, she learned about various charities working hard to find better treatments for children. And then she got baking.
“I wish for nothing more than a cure for this awful disease,” said Jane. “Because of this, I choose to donate to the charities who are focusing on research and making progress in this area.”
The employment consultant from Bayswater, an inner city suburb of Perth, WA, frequently donates her hard earned cash and throws herself into loads of different fundraising projects throughout the year. One of her favourites is Cupcakes for a Cure, which raises money for scientific research through The Kids’ Cancer Project.
Last September the magnanimous mum was hoping to generate $1,500 in sales from her home bakes. But with the help of some friends and a whole community behind her, she raised a whopping $6,000.
Jane said she felt very positive that the money was going to make a real difference to the lives of children who are diagnosed with cancer in the future.
“We all know only too well that new drugs are treatments are desperately needed for childhood cancer,” said Jane. “Our children are currently being treated with very old drugs, and protocols which were designed for adults.&rdquo
“Science has meant that some types of leukaemia now have a very high ‘cure’ rate, yet other cancers like the rhabdomyosarcoma my son was diagnosed with, hasn’t really made any progress in the last 40 years. The rarer cancers receive less funding, as they affect less people,” she said.
Jane’s hoping to have even bigger success when she holds her Cupcakes for a Cure event this year. If you can’t make it to Western Australia to try one of her baked goodies, or if you have another cause you support, she has this message for you.
“Everyone has a cause they are passionate about, and that’s ok. If you can’t donate to childhood cancer research, then please ‘Go Gold’ this September to help raise awareness instead,” said Jane.
“The children on the local children’s oncology ward are some of the bravest you could ever meet. But they are just children,” said Jane. “We have to advocate for them, and be their voice. Any donation made is money well spent and has the power to save lives and increase quality of life.”
The Kids' Cancer Project thank photographer Martin Kennealey, Community News, for supplying the hero image which shows Jane and Tom centre surrounded by like-minded friends.