Ruth Robinson, Regular Giver of the Month Posted on November 17, 2015March 13, 2018 by Carly du Toit “My dear friend and colleague, Andrew “Sid” Sidoli had fair skin and freckles. While he loved surfing, he always tried to look after his skin by putting on sunscreen and a shirt or wetsuit but it still wasn’t enough in the end. He was on holidays with his sister, Rebecca, when she noticed an abnormality on his back and told him he needed to get it checked. The lesion turned out to be melanoma. But from the day of his diagnosis Andrew fought it with everything he had and remained optimistic. One day when I saw him in the corridor at work he told me ‘I’ve been given a 10% chance of survival, and while I have a 10% chance, I have hope.’ Sid was larger than life, he always had a cheeky smile on his face and everyone at work loved and respected him. He made time for everyone and was really supportive when my Mum passed away. He encouraged me, and I think most people in his life, to get our skin checked regularly. He later became bedridden when the melanoma spread to his lungs and brain. His doctor, the well-known, Charlie Teo did everything he could for him, but at just 40 years old my beautiful friend sadly lost his battle. Unfortunately, Sid was amongst many of my work colleagues who had been affected by various cancer types over the years. I believe the only way we will fight this dreaded disease is through research, which is why I choose to support the Australian Cancer Research Foundation. I used to donate whenever I had spare money, which was about twice a year, but not long after Sid passed I signed up to be a regular giver. I realised that if I donated on a monthly basis it would help researcher’s fast track discoveries and ultimately save more lives. I donate just over $1 a day each month so it barely affects my daily budget. I have seen how advancements in cancer research can really help people. My brother in law, Noel Hughes is now battling liver cancer and the oral chemotherapy tablets he takes are far less traumatic for him than those that were available years earlier. If you can afford just $1 a day, please consider supporting the ACRF, cancer could affect anyone of us and at any time.” – Ruth Robinson, Regular Giver of the Month Share your story
Making a Difference in Michael’s Name Posted on October 15, 2015March 13, 2018 by Carly du Toit “My family has been touched by cancer a few times, but the two that hurt the most were the loss of my mother and then my husband. My mother was recently retired when she told me she had found a lump in her breast. After lots of convincing, my sisters and I finally got her to visit the doctor. What she hadn’t told us was that she had first noticed the lump six months ago and by then it had grown extremely large. This was 20 years ago and there weren’t many options available to her at the time. After fighting through 15 months of gruelling treatment she sadly lost her battle with breast cancer. Years later, Michael, my wonderful husband and the father of our four sons was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer at 54 years old. We were really shocked as he had always enjoyed good health and was not showing any symptoms other than an itchy feeling under the skin. Our doctor however, did not suspect good news and the blood test proved it. Michael endured a lot to try and beat the cancer. He went through one and a half rounds of chemo and underwent a very high risk operation called a Whipple procedure. Thankfully he made it through but it was a long, hard road to recovery after the extensive surgery. Thanks to the expertise of the doctors and their teams things began to look more positive, but we were only able to spend an extra 22 months with Michael before he passed away at 56 years old. I donate in Michael’s name each month and hope that my little bit will make a difference so we can find a cure for all cancers. I chose to support the Australian Cancer Research Foundation because it’s a non-profit organisation that awards grants to the most ground-breaking research teams in Australia. I know my donations will help cancer researchers to continue fast-tracking discoveries for the future.” – Jannelle Scerri, Regular Giver of the Month Learn more about becoming a regular giver. Share your story
