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Your impact 2024

Thank you for fuelling life-changing support.

You’re helping support Australians facing blood cancer today, while fuelling groundbreaking research projects creating a better tomorrow.

Keep reading to find out more about the difference you’re making in the lives of Australians like Cameron, who was diagnosed with blood cancer just months after becoming a father.

You’re helping change lives

Leukaemia Foundation CEO Chris Tanti

A message from the CEO

“Fuelled by your support, the Leukaemia Foundation has made significant advancements in blood cancer treatment and care in 2024.”

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Because of you, the Leukaemia Foundation is able to continue to support patients and families struggling financially in numerous ways. Your generosity has provided over 37,000 nights of accommodation for 550 families and $276,000 in financial assistance grants in 2023 alone.

With your support we have also helped set the standard of care for blood cancer in Australia with the introduction of Optimal Care Pathways (OCPs).

These kinds of support services and initiatives wouldn’t be possible without you, so thank you.

However, despite this progress, there continues to be a stubborn and troubling health divide affecting individuals in regional and remote communities.

Throughout Blood Cancer Month this September, we’re putting a spotlight on this divide in an effort to help give everyone – no matter who they are or where they live – the best chance of surviving blood cancer.

And we won’t stop until everyone living with blood cancer has a fair go.

On behalf of every single one of them, thank you.

Chris Tanti
CEO, Leukaemia Foundation

You’re helping change the lives of Australians like Cameron

Christmas 2021, we shared the inspirational story of Cameron, who was diagnosed with Burkitt’s lymphoma at 32-years-old.

Nearly a year on, we sat down with Cameron and Mykayla to get an update on their family’s life as they look towards a blood cancer-free future.

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Christmas 2021, you helped Cameron’s family in their time of need after he was diagnosed with Burkitt’s lymphoma at 32-years-old.

At the time, he and his wife Mykayla had just become parents and were awaiting their second child’s arrival. Cameron faced having to spend Christmas away from his family to be close to his hospital in Adelaide. But thanks to supporters like you, Cameron, Mykayla and their daughter Penny were able to stay together in accommodation run by the Leukaemia Foundation.

Nearly a year on, we sat down with Cameron and Mykayla to get an update on their family’s life as they look towards a blood cancer-free future. A life that was made possible thanks to you.

Their eldest, Penny, has just turned four and recently began Kindergarten, while Addison is two years old and thriving. “Cameron is doing very well with this health,” says Mykayla. “He has actually just started back playing hockey this year. [He] is no longer needing any cancer treatment.

“In April, we celebrated two years cancer free.”

And while they no longer require further assistance from the Leukaemia Foundation, the family is still so grateful for the way you helped them when they needed it most. “I’m just forever grateful. And it’s an experience that I’ll never forget, staying with the Leukemia Foundation,” says Mykayla.

Because of you, they can now look forward to their future as a young family and create lifelong memories with their two children. Blood cancer is now firmly in their rearview mirror

“Cameron’s cancer journey has taught us to embrace life.”

Belinda honours her late husband John Michael by leaving the Leukaemia Foundation a gift in her Will

In October 2021, Belinda lost her husband John Michael, 11 years after he was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

After receiving support from the Leukaemia Foundation throughout that time, they wanted to give back to the organisation that helped them when they needed it most by leaving a gift in their Will.

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“We both wanted to ensure that when we are gone, a percentage of our estate is donated to help others who are still diagnosed every day,” Belinda says.

“Whether it’s enough to supply a gift basket or a million dollars toward research, it doesn’t matter. Because it will all count. I give regularly on our behalf, but I just re-did my Will to ensure there is still a gift to the Leukaemia Foundation written in.”

Although leaving a gift in her Will was an easy choice, choosing a favourite memory of her dear husband was not. “There’s so many. The week before he died, he participated in his final Leukaemia Foundation event.”

“I pushed him up our street in his wheelchair and we had about 25 people walking with us. It was so special for us all.”

By leaving a gift in your Will to the Leukaemia Foundation, you’ll help families facing blood cancer, for many years to come.

If you would like to know more about including a gift in your Will to the Leukaemia Foundation, please contact:

Emma Dwyer,
Senior Philanthropy Manager
(08) 8169 6051
giftinwill@leukaemia.org.au

And if you are ready to write your Will to beat blood cancer, we invite you to do so during Free Wills Week, September 2-8 at safewill.com/leukaemiafoundation.

You’re helping set nationwide standards for blood cancer treatment

Since 2022, you’ve helped us lead the blood cancer sector and publish 11 trusted optimal care pathways that describe the standard of care that should be available to all cancer patients treated in Australia.

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OCPs are designed to improve the level of care and wellbeing of patients by ensuring specialists, hospitals, GPs and ultimately patients have access to nationally consistent best practice treatment and information.

This is just one way your support is helping create better opportunities and care for people living with blood cancer.

Carlia Van Den Hoek is living proof of the barriers that many Australians face when diagnosed with blood cancer.

Despite significant advancements in blood cancer treatment and care, there remains a troubling divide that affects many individuals and communities across the country.

A divide that 32-year-old Carlia Van Den Hoek knows all too well.

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In September 2010, Carlia, who was 24-weeks pregnant and living in Darwin, was diagnosed with Diffuse B cell lymphoma. Due to her symptoms blurring the lines between pregnancy and blood cancer and the lack of knowledge around blood cancer amongst medical staff in the area, her diagnosis was delayed. Numerous blood tests and GPs failed to detect anything wrong with Carlia other than common pregnancy-related illnesses.

By the time her blood cancer was confirmed, she was already in a critical state.

“A lot of people get diagnosed earlier than I did. When I finally got my diagnosis, I was in a matter of life and death. We were in survival mode,” Carlia describes.

Carlia was given small amounts of treatment due to how unwell she was at the time of her diagnosis. Thankfully by 34 weeks Carlia slowly regained enough strength and gave birth to a healthy baby boy, and now the doctors were able to start the full regime of treatment. Living in Darwin, having a stem cell transplant without having to relocate wasn’t an option due to a limited health resources in the area. So she was forced to move to Adelaide to access the care she needed, leaving her without a place to stay.

However, your generosity helped ease the burden. Carlia and her family were able to stay in accommodation run by the Leukaemia Foundation close to hospital for the 6 and a half months they were in South Australia. “[The Leukaemia Foundation] supports people like me in the most traumatic times of their life. It’s practical help when you’re terrified. And it really makes a huge difference,” she recalls.

Thanks to your generosity, Carlia got the support she needed to make it through, and she’s forever grateful. However, many Australians who face similar challenges aren’t so lucky. Which is why the Leukaemia Foundation is committed to achieving nationally consistent best practice treatment, care and information for all.

Need support?

If you or someone you know has been diagnosed with blood cancer, we’re here to help.

Call 1800 620 420 to speak with a Blood Cancer Support Coordinator or fill out our online referral form for our team to get back to you within two business days.

Thank you for your heartfelt support

We’re so thankful for the way you step up to answer our call for help, making new hope possible every day.