FORMER Newcastle Knights player Mark Hughes and Professor Mike Fay are returning to Coffs Harbour on 7 June for Beanie for Brain Cancer.
The co-founder of the Mark Hughes Foundation (MHF) and Director of the MHF Centre for Brain Cancer Research, will stopover as part of a regional road trip.
The pair are hitting the road on 2 June, heading out of Newcastle to Tamworth, Bellingen, Coffs Harbour and Port Macquarie.
They will visit local schools, IGA stores and patients who’ve been working with MHF Brain Cancer Care Coordinators.
Mark and Mike will make a quick stop at Ritchies IGA Plus at Boambee at 8.30am, before arriving in Coffs Harbour at 9.30am to meet the team from the North Coast Cancer Institute.
“We know that brain cancer patients in regional areas experience an additional layer of challenges, that’s why visiting areas like Coffs Harbour is so important to us,” Hughes told News Of The Area.
“The team at the North Coast Cancer Institute are doing amazing work, and our MHF Brain Cancer Care Coordinator Steph plays such an important role in guiding patients on their brain cancer journey.”
Professor Fay told NOTA, “Our Brain Cancer Care Coordinators are our ears, eyes and hearts on the ground, but getting out into regional communities and hearing more about people’s lived experience with brain cancer is so important.
“Taking the time to drive through these beautiful regions and meet the people who are impacted by brain cancer is a real honour.”
Around 2000 Australians are diagnosed with brain cancer every year, and while researchers are working hard on finding a cure and better treatments, survival rates have increased just one percent over the past 20 years.
Brain cancer kills more children than any other disease, and only two in 10 people diagnosed with brain cancer survive at least five years.
“We want to change those numbers.”
The Mark Hughes Foundation was formed in 2014, and set up the MHF Centre for Brain Cancer Research in 2022.
“With $30 million raised since 2014, we’ve seen awareness raised, new treatments explored – and a lot more researchers are now focussing on this deadly disease.
“The Beanie for Brain Cancer is the ideal time to engage with our communities, so they know that when they support us, we’ll deliver what they [need].”
By Andrea FERRARI
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