A call to arms

It is now 5 months since my beautiful man Anthony passed away from brain cancer surviving only 5 months after diagnosis. It’s hard to believe that only 10 months ago my life was “normal” before being turned upside down by the consequences of his diagnosis. It does not surprise me to read disappointing news articles such as the one attached that statistically reflect what Anthony was told by his treating doctors – essentially that brain cancer is a hopeless case. I speak to so many people who reveal they too have been touched by the effects of brain cancer – a parent, a relative, a friend, a child – who has fallen to the disease. Somehow this would be easier to accept if I believed that we as a community were doing all we could to find new ways of treating brain cancer. This is not the case. In another news article I shared today, the Daily Telegraph reports that the Australian Government spends way more on the possible medical effects of wind farms than it does on childhood brain cancer research. The charity Cure Brain Cancer says “Brain cancer research receives very little funding compared to other cancers and there is also minimal spend on care co-ordination or other infrastructural support for patients.” That is the reason Anthony’s last wish was to support brain cancer research by donating his brain to the SA Neurological and Brain Tumour Bank. He was interviewed by the Flinders Foundation a few weeks before he died and in this interview he urges more money be given to this cause. He also identified the need for better co-ordination of care – he saw me battling on a daily basis the various medical and support organisations to get the services he needed in a timely way and talked with his treating doctors about the need for a brain cancer coordinating nurse for South Australian brain cancer patients. I ask you to follow Anthony’s lead and to turn your grief at his loss into a positive act, by assisting the brain cancer cause. There are several ways. You could attend the PinkYellowBlue Ball on 28 October at the Adelaide Convention Centre raising money for brain cancer research (Anthony’s story will be featured at the Ball and excerpts from his interview played). You could donate money to the Flinders Foundation. You could support neurosurgeon Santosh Poonoose in requests to the Government for funding of brain cancer care and research in South Australia. Or you could simply share this post and others like it.

No improvements in brain cancer death rate