Port Stephens Car Show raises $30K for the fight against brain cancer

FUNDS raised in the latest edition of the Port Stephens Car Show will make all the difference in the fight against brain cancer.

While brain cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in children and adults under 40 in Australia, funding in the field remains shockingly lacking.

According to Associate Professor Paul Tooney, Experimental Therapeutics Stream Leader at the Mark Hughes Foundation (MHF) Centre for Brain Cancer Research, every dollar is crucial to fight back against the disease.

“Brain cancer is a rare cancer, so [funding] hasn’t been prominent to the level of other cancers,” Professor Tooney said.

“There are efforts across the country from all the researchers, foundations and supporters to try and lobby the government to get more funding.”

The MHF was funded in 2014 with the goal of contributing vital research, raising awareness and, ultimately, finding a cure.

The Port Stephens Car Show was proud to support the MHF through fundraising events, including the Tennis Ball Run raffle and beanie sales. Professor Tooney, who volunteered on the day selling the iconic MHF beanies alongside his team, was floored by the community support received.

Even just a couple hundred dollars, he explained, could help buy lab consumables to keep an experiment running for a month, and the event itself raised close to $30,000.

“That amount of money would allow one of our young researchers to run a project testing new drugs for brain cancer,” he said.

“The support from the Port Stephens Car Show is absolutely incredible. Every dollar that somebody donates is another step closer to us finding better treatments, better outcomes, and hopefully one day a cure for brain cancer.”

Professor Tooney also said that the Car Show has been an amazing opportunity for him to give back to the community, thank them for their support and share the exciting research that is being undertaken.

By Nico LOMBARDO