Support lifesaving cancer treatment in South Australia

At just two years old, Zoe was diagnosed with Ewing Sarcoma, a common type of childhood cancer that forms in the bones or the soft tissues around the bones.

Doctors discovered a tumour in her T6 vertebrae wrapped around her spine and growing out the front and back, touching her heart and lungs.

Zoe immediately underwent emergency spinal surgery to remove the tumour. She then endured a long process of chemotherapy and a specialised and lifesaving targeted radiation treatment called Proton Therapy.

This incredible treatment minimises the dangerous long-term risks of conventional therapy, which can leave childhood cancer fighters with damage to the heart, lungs, brain, spine, kidneys, thyroid gland, or reproductive organs.

Out of pure chance, Zoe and her family had access to Proton Therapy because they were living in Texas, only a short drive away from the treatment centre.

Heartbreakingly, Australian families must face the difficult decision to uproot their lives to travel internationally to seek Proton Therapy, or go down the conventional therapy path that has added risks.

This reality is set to change with Adelaide becoming home to the first ever lifesaving Proton Therapy centre in the southern hemisphere. But there’s still work to be done to bring the North Terrace facility to life.

Your donation today will have double the impact in supporting the lifesaving facilities, research and treatment at the world-class centre.

Professor Jordan Hansford, a children’s neuro-oncologist who will be working in the new Proton Therapy centre, says the fight doesn’t stop for kids once they are cancer-free. In fact, they often face a long road ahead.

“While [conventional treatment] is an important part of therapy, it can leave children with marked neurocognitive changes in memory, processing speed and even IQ. This leads to social problems including inabilities to care for oneself, hold a job or maintain a relationship.”

But with lifesaving Proton Therapy, cancer fighting kids can look forward to their hopeful futures. Zoe is now 15 years old and cancer free. She has a remarkable story and can now enjoy many of the things other teenagers enjoy thanks to this incredible treatment.