Kids like Bryson shouldn't be facing cancer at Christmas
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Bryson was just two years old when his world changed — and so did his family’s.
Bryson's mum, Tamara, was planning his third birthday when she was told that she could lose him.
A fast-growing brain tumour, the size of a tennis ball was pressing on Bryson’s brain. There was a high risk that Bryson could die.
“Two doctors walked in and closed the curtains, and I could tell by their faces something wasn’t right. That’s when our world collapsed,” Tamara said. “He was so little. I just wanted to will the tumour out of his head into my own.”
The treatment was brutal. Eventually, Bryson rang the bell — a milestone that marks the end of cancer treatment. But Tamara says, “When your child has cancer, it’s never really over.”
Today, Bryson is a beautiful, bright little boy. But the cancer — and the treatments that saved him — have caused permanent damage to his brain. He lives with challenges he’ll face for the rest of his life.
Children like Bryson are waiting for a better future. One where surviving cancer doesn’t come at such a devastating cost.
Your support can help fund safer, gentler treatments — ones that cure without leaving a lifetime of harm.
Please donate today.
Bryson's Story, a gorgeous cheeky and vibrant 2 year old facing the realities of cancer
Bryson had a few odd symptoms, but he was too little to explain what was hurting. Then over Christmas, Bryson was in terrible pain. Doctors found a sizeable tumour in his brain and said his surgery couldn’t wait.... He had lifesaving surgery the next day."
When Bryson was diagnosed with brain cancer, my world crumbled. He was about to turn three and facing death. He was in hospital with awful pain and vomiting before his chemo even began. Then it was another two months full of horrifying setbacks and side effects."
Bryson often asked for his big brothers. He missed them so much.
I remember hearing other families ring the bell and thinking ‘that’s amazing’. When you’re in the thick of your child’s cancer treatment, you just hope you’ll get that moment
too. I met kids in hospital with Bryson who didn’t survive. It’s devastating. All you want is to go home with your child and put cancer behind you forever.
The reality is childhood cancer is never really over. Every few months, you’re back for a scan and holding your breath in terror. We’ve been so blessed that Bryson hasn’t
relapsed. But he has a brain injury from his cancer and treatment. And we just don’t know what impacts he’ll have to deal with in the future.
How can ACCEPT create a better future?
Over the past 30 years, medical advances have helped many more children survive cancer. Yet treatments are still invasive and traumatic. Children still die. And many children still aren’t benefiting from new therapies, like immunotherapy.
ACCEPT – the ACRF Childhood Cancer Early Detection, Prevention and Treatment Program – unites brilliant researchers and clinicians with one goal: saving children’s lives.
By combining cutting-edge lab science with real-time clinical insights, ACCEPT can confront the biggest challenges in childhood cancer.
ACCEPT aims to:
- Better understand a child’s cancer risk so we can catch and stop their cancer earlier.
- Establish advanced model systems, allowing scientists to safely and rapidly test new treatments for rare childhood cancers.
- Develop drugs for previously ‘undruggable’ cancers unlocking lifesaving new treatment options.
The ACCEPT program aims to take us closer to the day where cancer can be stopped, long before it causes damage to a child’s growing body. By detecting genetic risks early, children could be closely monitored and maybe even given interventions that prevent cancer from forming. And if cancer occurs, it could be identified early enough to cause limited harm.
ACCEPT is working toward a future where a child’s cancer can be gently corrected before it even occurs, instead of being treated with toxic drugs. It may be possible to simply ‘nudge’ a wayward gene back onto its proper pathway so that cancer doesn’t occur in the first place. That could mean no nasty side effects or lasting damage, and no chance of cancer coming back.
Your support could help ACCEPT researchers develop targeted treatments for childhood cancers that were previously ‘undruggable’. How? By equipping them with cutting-edge testing infrastructure, at an all-new scale. ACCEPT will help researchers crack elusive childhood cancers and unlock promising new treatments – faster.
“ACCEPT’s research will lead to faster discoveries and more successful treatments for children. But we are utterly reliant on technology to make it happen.”