Childhood brain cancer survivor raises over $60,000 for life-changing research in 100km overnight run
Max was just 10 years old when he was diagnosed with a rare brain cancer. Now 23, he’s raised over $60,000 facing his latest challenge – a 100km overnight run from Gold Coast to Brisbane.
From Thursday, 8 October to Friday, 9 October, Max laced up his shoes for children fighting a battle he knows all too well to raise funds for Children’s Hospital Foundation and Ian Frazer Centre for Children’s Immunotherapy Research.
Running towards a brighter future
In 2014, Max’s life was suddenly flipped with the discovery of multiple brain tumours.
His days quickly filled with appointments, intensive surgeries and chemotherapy treatment at Queensland Children’s Hospital.
At the time, chemotherapy was the standard treatment for children with brain cancer, its side effects that can leave children facing significant physical and emotional challenges long after treatment ends.
Immunotherapy is globally recognised as an important new approach to cancer treatment, offering a safer and more effective alternative to chemotherapy — the primary focus of the Ian Frazer Centre for Children’s Immunotherapy Research.
For children like Max, advances in immunotherapy offer hope for a future with fewer side effects and better outcomes.
Clinical Director of the Ian Frazer Centre for Children’s Immunotherapy Research, Dr Wayne Nicholls, said researchers were harnessing the power of the immune system to change the way childhood brain cancers are treated.
“We’re using cutting-edge immunotherapy and precision science to understand these cancers at a molecular level and harness the body’s own immune system to fight them,” Dr Nicholls said.
Having been through the intensive chemotherapy Max’s fundraising to improve outcomes for the next generation of young patients through immunotherapy research and care.
A survivor’s legacy
Max’s 100km run ended where it all began – Queensland Children’s Hospital.
He was welcomed home by a crowd of supporters, including family, friends and hospital and Foundation supporters.
This ambitious run is only the latest challenge in a decade of fundraising for Max.
Despite multiple brain surgeries, intensive treatment and chemotherapy, Max has completed 12 consecutive Bridge to Brisbane events, raising more than $150,000 for the Foundation in his lifetime.
Now a philosophy student at the University of Queensland, Max is living independently and happily and says his life-changing diagnosis shaped everything that followed.
“I knew early on that if I survived this, I wanted to make it easier for other kids,” Max said.
“No child should have to go through what I went through without support. And if they do, they deserve to be surrounded by care, comfort and hope for a bright future.”
Through the fear and uncertainty of treatment, Max says it was Foundation programs like bedside play, Music Therapy, games and volunteers who remembered his name every time he came through the doors, giving him a much-needed distraction.
Children’s Hospital Foundation CEO Lyndsey Rice said events like these make the Foundation’s investment into life-changing research possible.
“Thanks to moments like this, where we see the community rally around Max, we’re building a future where treatments are safer, smarter, and tailored to each child – bringing real hope of lasting cures,” Ms Rice said.
Donate today to create a brighter future for kids facing cancer like Max.
The difference that shapes their world
Through supporting the Children’s Hospital Foundation, you can improve childhoods and ensure all children and young people have access to treatment - sooner.
