I took the photo above of Mum the second time she was diagnosed with breast cancer. It was the afternoon before she was going into surgery for a mastectomy. Have you ever seen someone so happy and joyful!. This was Mum till the end. She never called herself or had seen herself as a survivor but she truly was.

This is the same smile that her doctors had seen when she begged them to let her do another round of chemotherapy only weeks from her passing. Her doctor said “I have never seen anyone so happy to be told they are having chemo before!.”

It’s now been 6 months since Mum and her beautiful joyful spirit passed from this world and we would like to share with you what your donations have helped us to achieve.

In conjunction and consultation with Maria’s Doctors and Canberra Hospitals Foundation we have made a donation supporting 2 very important research programs. One for breast cancer and the other gynaecological cancer.

We want to assure you that research really does make a huge difference and although there is not a cure today, advances made through research have added months and years to the lives of so many including my Mum.

Mum saw the advances first hand since first being diagnosed with breast cancer 22 years ago.

I assisted in fundraising for a groundbreaking research programme that was in the beginning stages and had only just started clinical trials. That was 10 years ago.

It has now been successfully developed and one aspect of that, for example, was available to Mum in the form of a simple blood test.

Having this blood test is doing away with the need for sporadic invasive tissue samples.

Simply put the test is able to quickly pinpoint treatments that won’t work and treatments that will, saving precious time.

And the other wonderful thing we were able to achieve was acquiring 2 leather recliner chairs to be placed in wards 14A & 14B at The Canberra Hospital.

These chairs are few are far between. We had one brought into Mum’s room about a week before she passed away.

Although it was a bit broken and didn’t stay fully reclined, it gave my Dad a comfortable place to sit all day and I was able to roll the chair right up against Mum’s bed, so I could hold her hand and sleep right next to her.

Currently they are borrowed from the Cancer Centre where they are used for various purposes, such as chemotherapy. Patients may be in one of these chairs instead of a bed as Mum was many times.

They are also used by patients receiving different treatments or therapies in the ward including immunotherapy.

I can’t imagine if one hadn’t been available for us. So I’m really pleased to say that the one we had is going to be repaired and two brand new chairs will be going to the ward.

Thank you once again for your generous donations in honour and memory of Maria.

Your generosity will continue to make an impact we are truly grateful.