When thousands hit the roads this October for Australia’s favourite charity bike ride, Great Cycle Challenge, they will all have the same mission in mind – to put the brakes on childhood cancer and help save little lives like Audrey’s.

The Great Cycle Challenges sees riders hopping on their bike, throughout October, and raising funds for the life-saving cancer research being done in the labs at Children’s Medical Research Institute in Westmead.

Since the Great Cycle Challenge started 12 years ago, riders have completed over 33 million kilometres and raised more than $45 million to help kids like Audrey.

It was just after her first birthday, at a routine health care check, that a nurse recommended Audrey’s parents send her for testing as her head circumference had increased.

Audrey was diagnosed with grade 4 medulloblastoma which had spread to her central nervous system. This brain cancer has required six surgeries, blood transfusions and chemotherapy.

The cancer that could not be removed during surgery is, unfortunately, not responding to treatment as well as doctors had hoped. There are still other options thanks to research into what is a very rare and aggressive cancer.

“You think the cancer is going to be the biggest battle but then you have all these other challenges, that are very hard,’’ Madeline said. “She’s experienced so many complications, and we just hope her body responds to this latest treatment.

“This is why we are doing this, to try to pay it forward and raise awareness and try to improve outcomes for other kids. It makes you feel like you’re doing something because you feel so helpless.’’ 

Madeline said knowing that thousands of complete strangers across the country were riding for kids like Audrey, gave them great comfort.

“It’s deeply moving to know that Great Cycle Challenge riders are pedalling for Audrey and kids like her,’’ Madeline said. “More awareness, more funding, and more research are desperately needed – because our babies deserve better outcomes.

“It feels like our village is growing.’’

Part of that village is Children’s Medical Research Institute’s newest lab, established purely to focus on how to improve the diagnosis and treatment of childhood cancer.

The lab, run by Dr Rebecca Poulos aims to give clinicians a new way to determine, using analysis of the proteins in a child’s cancer, what treatments will and won’t work.

“Cancer is the leading cause of death from disease in Australian children,’’ Dr Poulos said. “There is an urgent need to improve precision medicine to advance outcomes in hard-to-treat paediatric cancers.

“Proteins should better predict cancer treatment response because most anti-cancer drugs interact directly with proteins.

“Within five years we want to be able to deliver these very specific reports, routinely into the clinic,’’ she said. “We want to be able to give clinicians confidence by giving them more information so they can decide on the most appropriate treatment.’’

We are calling on all Australians to sign up, set yourself a personal riding goal for the month of October, and raise funds to help kids like Audrey. Because kids should be living life, not fighting for it.

Find out more here:  greatcyclechallenge.com.au

Media Enquiries:
Monique Cowper,  Media Manager, Children’s Medical Research Institute
Email: mcowper@cmri.org.au
Mobile: 0410 629 363