Family fun for cancer research

A FESTIVE event in Redan this weekend is aiming to help eradicate cancer in Australia.

Former Victorian of the Year, Gold Logie-winning actor, and founder of cancer charity Love Your Sister, Samuel Johnson, will be in Ballarat this Sunday, 26 June for a fundraising family fun day.

To be held at the Ballarat Greyhound Racing Club, the event will benefit Love Your Sister which donates 100 per cent of funds raised to cancer research, and encourages women to monitor their breast health.

Run in partnership with local not-for-profit Twin Hearts, the day will include all-ages activities like live music, a petting zoo, stalls, and food, and Mr Johnson will announce the total of funds raised.

After his late sister Connie Johnson was diagnosed with cancer, Mr Johnson established the organisation.

“Precision medicine can eradicate false lines of treatment entirely, save many lives and countless billions on ineffective drugs,” he said.

“It took three months to see whether the first drug administered to my sister was having a demonstrable effect on the size of her tumour. That’s three months she didn’t have. All up, she had three false lines of treatment and by the time we found the right drug, it was too late.

“This all could have been avoided if she’d had the test straight up, to determine the best treatment for her; the right drug, first time, every time.

“We did not offer this precision treatment a decade ago when my sister was diagnosed, and too many patients are not being given access to it now. I’m fed up. This needs to change now.”

The Love Your Sister Family Fun Day will run this Sunday, 26 June from 10am to 3pm, and is part of a broader Love Your Sister tour.

Mr Johnson is visiting regional Victoria and New South Wales, appealing to communities for their support to boost funding for cancer research, and help all patients from all backgrounds to access the treatment they need to save their lives.