Football is about spirit, strength and the fight to win. Those touched by cancer share a similar journey and need the same strength and courage to win their individual fight.

Footy Colours Day is the Fight Cancer Foundation national fundraising event, and is the one day in September to fight cancer and save lives. This year, Footy Colours Day is held on Friday 3 September 2010.

Thousands of Australians unite and don their favourite football team’s colours - AFL, NRL, Rugby Union, Soccer - to help raise money for children living with cancer.

Wear your football team’s colours, guernsey, scarf, beanie and make a donation to the Fight Cancer Foundation.

While the official Footy Colours Day is Friday 3 September 2010, if this does not fit into your internal calendar of events, any day around this date can be used.

Footy Colours Day is easy to organise, lots of fun and a great opportunity for corporates, small business, government, schools, clubs and local communities to band together.

Support Footy Colours Day. For more information and to register for Footy Colours Day please click here or contact Sophia on 03 9342 7888 or email sophia.elliott@fightcancer.org.au

The Red Ball is the annual, signature fundraising event of the Fight Cancer Foundation and is one of Melbourne’s premier charity balls. This year, join us by volunteering for an unforgettable masquerade themed evening on Saturday 4th September at the Palladium Ballroom at Crown.

Volunteers are crucial to helping the Fight Cancer Foundation achieve our goals in the fight against cancer. Without the support of dedicated individuals we wouldn’t be able to stage an event of this size. The success of these events depends on the generosity of one’s time, passion and willingness to help.

We are looking for enthusiastic individuals to assist us with a variety of tasks during the day and night of the 4th of September. If you would like to be involved in this unforgetable event, please contact us directly.

How to apply:

Please download and complete the Red Ball Volunteer Registration Form

(Volunteers must be 18 years and over)

For more information, please contact the Volunteer Co-ordinator - Elizabeth Velevska at 9342 7888 or email elizabeth.velevska@fightcancer.org.au

Saturday 7 August 2010 at 12pm.

The Directors of Wildfire Tonci Farac, Anthony and Julian Izzillo invite you to support the Fight Cancer Foundation at the Red Flame Luncheon on Saturday 7 August at 12.00pm.

Click here to download the Invitation and book early for this very special event Wildfire Invitation

Situated in Sydney’s Overseas Passenger Terminal, Wildfire is part of the rich history of Sydney’s old town. Wildfire opened in 2002, just after the terminal’s redevelopment for the 2000 Olympics. Built in 1960 to accommodate the surge in the international cruise ship industry, the terminal also houses the work of one of Australia’s official World War II artists, 1949 Archibald Prize winning Arthur Murch.
Complimenting its unsurpassable views of the majestic Harbour Bridge and the iconic Opera House, Wildfire presents a fine dining experience of culinary and service excellence.

“What a wild and enchanting place,” Baz Luhrmann
“A wonderful dinner and a beautiful atmosphere,” Susan Sarandon

Proceeds from the Red Flame Luncheon will support Sydney children living with cancer through the Fight Cancer Back on Track Program which is being administered out of the Children’s Hospital at Westmead.
The program re-connects children to their school, teachers and mates using webcam and computers to enable them to continue their education whilst having treatment for their cancer in hospital and at home during recovery. The aim of this program is to ensure that every child living with cancer, is given the opportunity to reach their full potential educationally, emotionally and socially.

DATE: Saturday 7 August 2010
TIME: 12pm
Venue:Wildfire Restaurant, Overseas Passenger Terminal, Circular Quay, The Rocks, Sydney
Cost: $165 per person for a superb degustation menu complemented by fine wines.

For more information, please contact Sophia Elliott on 03 93427888 or email sophia. elliott@fightcancer.org.au

The Fight Cancer Foundation’s funding of the Bone Marrow Research Laboratories has contributed towards groundbreaking research in the fight against cancer. A team of researchers, headed by Dr David Curtis with Lead Researcher Dr Mathew McCormak of the Bone Marrow Research Laboratories, in collaboration with the University of Melbourne’s Department of Medicine at The Royal Melbourne Hospital have discovered the cells that cause a common type of childhood leukaemia - T cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia (T-ALL).

Approximately 50 new cases of T-ALL are diagnosed every year in Australia mostly in childen and adolescents. Adults can contract T-ALL. Three out of four children diagnosed with T-All go into remission after extensive treatment lasting up to 3 years.

The team found that with irradiation treatment in animal models, over 99 per cent of cells in the thymus were killed, but these stem cell-like cells persisted and rapidly recovered. This suggests that these cells may survive therapy and be responsible for relapsed disease following treatment. Dr McCormack, a leading international expert on childhood leukaemia, and a former BMDI Fellow, said: “The cellular origins of this leukaemia are not well understood. Our discovery that these cells are similar to normal stem cells explains why they are capable of surviving for long periods. It also explains why they are remarkably resistant to treatment.”

Dr Curtis, Head of the Leukaemia Research Program at The Royal Melbourne Hospital, and Deputy Director of the BMRL said: “The identification of these cells provides an important target for the development and testing of new treatments for patients with T cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia.”

The team will now focus on novel treatments capable of killing these cells, which may lead to clinical trials within the next five years. Funding from the BMDI (Fight Cancer Foundation)was integral to this research.

This pioneering work was published in the premier international journal, Science and was the subject of great interest in the media, both locally and internationally.

Bears that Care Auction - join in the fight against cancer!

The Fight Cancer Foundation invites you to attend a very special charity auction of collectible bears donated by Australian and international bear artists. Hosted by Ovcare Ambassador, Rebecca Maddern (Channel 7), the auction will no doubt be an event to delight one and all.

The Bears come in all shapes and sizes. No two bears are alike, but the Bears That Care send the same message - compassion and caring for women with cancer. These unique, collectible bears have been donated by national and international bear artists in support of Ovcare’s ovarian cancer research and test development programs.

These one of a kind bears will be available for purchase on the night in both the live and silent auctions. There will also be a raffle for a much sought after prize for some lucky person to take home.

Don’t miss this rare opportunity to purchase a unique and special work of art in support of a cause that affects many Australian women and their families. Bears that Care is not only for bear enthusiasts but also for those who want to support the fight against cancer.

Drinks and nibbles will be served.

Date: Friday, 12 November 2010
Time: 6:30 for 7:00 pm
Venue: RACV City Club, 17th Floor, 501 Bourke St, Melbourne
Tickets: $75 per person (cocktail style event)

For more information and to book your tickets please go to Bears that Care or call 03-9342 7888

Join us for the 18th Annual Red Ball - a sumptuous evening of MASQUERADE. Don’t forget your mask!

Please click on the link for Red Ball 2010 MASQUERADE Booking Form

For information on Red Ball 2010 MASQUERADE please click here

John Bennet Mathew Opie AM
(April 4, 1941- May 20, 2009)

John Opie AM, President and Chairman of the Bone Marrow Donor Institute (BMDI) and Fight Cancer Foundation, passed away on Wednesday May 20, 2009 after a short illness.

John was a man who was larger than life – he was passionate about everything he did in his life, his career, his community work, but most importantly his family and then his friends.

He was a Chartered Accountant by profession and began his illustrious career with Hungerfords Chartered Accountants where he gained invaluable experience in audit and accounting, during his fourteen years with the firm. He was an astute businessman who seized each new business opportunity to broaden his working career. He saw the opportunities in new technology and began consulting to a wide range of technology based companies. John was a member of many business organisations and was a director, secretary and chairman of numerous private and public companies. In recent times John was a co-owner of Adammo Fresh and Big Wet Spring Water and several other smaller companies.

John was the recipient of several community awards, the Tattersalls Annual Award for Enterprise and Achievement and the Rotary International - Paul Harris Fellow, the Waverley Citizen of the Year, the Sir John Reid Community Service Award, the Australia Day Award, the AMP Victorian Community Service Award and he was recognised in 2002 with an Order of Australia.

John’s community activities were many and varied and included, Treasurer of the RSPCA, Secretary of the Company Directors Association, Secretary of the Arts Access Society, Treasurer of the Productivity Promotion Council of Australia and President and Chairman of the Bone Marrow Donor Institute and Fight Cancer Foundation, which he has guided passionately for the past 20 years.

He was a man of vision and a founding member of BMDI established in 1989 by a group of families who had experienced the devastation of having a child with leukaemia. Their mission was to establish a bone marrow donor registry in Australia. He was the driving force behind this mission and in partnership with the Royal Melbourne Hospital and the Red Cross Blood Bank they established the Australian Bone Marrow Donor Registry. This was the first great vision, where there was previously little hope, now there is a registry of over 170,000 Australians and access to more than 10 million donors worldwide, and more than 8,000 Australian and international patients have been given a second chance of life.

Under John’s visionary leadership, the organisation established the Rotary Bone Marrow Research Centre and the world renowned Bone Marrow Research Laboratories, to search for a cure for leukaemia and other cancers of the blood; The BMDI Cord Blood Bank, one of the most respected Banks in the world, which has over 8,000 cord blood units ready for a life saving transplant, that has so far given a second chance of life to more than 750 young people in Australia and overseas; BMDI Rotary House in North Melbourne for cancer patients who need to be near Melbourne’s major treating hospitals; Fight Cancer Foundation House in Hobart for patients who need to travel to Hobart for treatment; cancer support groups, and projects including the Fight Cancer Back on Track which enables Australian school-aged children living with cancer to continue their education during treatment and recovery and the Fight Cancer Back to Work program, which assists bone marrow and stem cell transplant recipients and their carers to re-enter the workforce following long absences after treatment; and the Ovarian Cancer Early Detection Test released in late 2008, which may also provide early detection tests for Prostate Cancer and Bowel Cancer.

John was an inspiration to his fellow Board Members, Staff, Volunteers and the many whose lives he touched. His passion, vision and tireless energy have been the driving force behind the establishment, growth and success of BMDI and Fight Cancer Foundation. John left his fellow Board Members with many challenges on the drawing board and encouraged all who knew him to put something back into the community, because he felt it was so very rewarding.

John is survived by his wife Kwai Lin, three children, Michael, Karen, Michelle and their partners, Louise, Angus and David, and grand children Eve, Mathew and Nicholas, Jessica and John.

John’s dedication and inspiration provides a lasting legacy of hope and a second chance of life to cancer patients and their families.

The program Back On Track has set up for me is great! My teacher is really nice and has helped me so much. Having someone explain the work and help me with difficult topics makes it so much easier.I’m very thankful to be involved in the Back On Track program as I want to do well at school - now more than ever. Having leukaemia has made me appreciate many things others take for granted. I couldn’t believe I actually missed going to school, but I did!

The Back On Track Program works around my hospital visits, and days when I have been really sick and just too tired to work. I appreciated that. They encourage me on the good days, and I have been able to keep up with all of my work. I miss my school friends too, but Back On Track loaned me a great laptop to do my school work on and I can email my friends or talk on MSN.

I can’t express enough just how much the support of the Fight Cancer Foundation helped me and my family. Thank you!” ]]> http://www.fightcancer.org.au/2007/bottom-block-3/feed/