This Christmas, you can light the way to a better future by making a gift to cancer research.
As a result of receiving radiotherapy 17 years ago for a brain tumour, Rosel now experiences daily seizures and is unable to walk.
This Christmas, we are asking the South Australian community to help fund Dr Paul Joyce’s research in nanomedicine which has huge potential to change the associated side effects of cancer treatment.
Will you help light the way to a better future for people like Rosel?
In 2006, Andy and Rosel celebrated their 17-year wedding anniversary with their 15-year-old son Wade by their side.
They lived a busy and happy life, until one-night Rosel woke up unable to move her body.
Andy raced Rosel to the emergency department at Lyell McEwin Hospital, where she was diagnosed with a brain tumour the size of an egg.
Within days, Rosel was in surgery to remove the tumour, and began full-strength radiotherapy for six weeks. The surgery and treatment were so intense that Rosel spent months in rehab learning how to walk and speak again, however, it was successful in removing the tumour.
Eventually, Rosel and Andy created a ‘new normal’ and continued living their lives. This was until 10 years later, when Rosel suffered a massive seizure, followed by many more.
In December 2020, Rosel was diagnosed with SMART Syndrome, or Stroke-like Migraines After Radiation Therapy, a rare outcome of her cancer treatment.
Rosel now has seizures almost every day and is unable to walk. Andy has had to give up work to become her full-time carer.
Cancer Council Beat Cancer Project researcher Dr Paul Joyce knows all too well the impact that aggressive cancer treatments can have.
“A number of people close to me have had cancer and it has been very difficult to watch. Seeing the urgent need for improvement in therapies made me want to move further into the cancer space and try to develop better treatments.”
- Dr Paul Joyce
Dr Joyce and his team are working on a novel, nanomedicine approach with huge potential to change the associated side effects of cancer treatment.
Dr Joyce says he and his team need to trial the use of lipid nanoparticles for a range of different novel drugs which can treat not just brain cancer, but lung and colorectal cancer. The project will also aim to improve the efficacy of immunotherapies.
This is a once-in-a-lifetime research project which your donation can have a direct impact on.
Will you donate to Cancer Council SA this Christmas to help light the way to a better future for people like Rosel?
