The skies may have been grey, but the magnificent confines of the Baker McKenzie conference rooms in the imposing Barangaroo Towers complex was a world away.
Bright yellow roses reminded all present, of the lives, past, present and future, affected by sarcoma, and the overriding message – ‘while sarcoma awareness month may be over, we are only just beginning…’
We extend our deepest gratitude to eminent health journalist Dr Norman Swan, ABC Producer and presenter of the ABC Health Report for his flawless hosting of the panel discussion, and his engaging and relatable manner.
Anthony Foley, National Managing Partner – Baker McKenzie extended a warm and personal welcome to our guests, with The Honourable Robert Beech-Jones, Chairman, CRBF, stepping to the podium to outline more about the Foundation’s work, and his involvement as Chair.
Professors Angela Hong – ANZSA, Maya Kansara, and David Thomas, from the Garvan Institute of Medical Research, formed our specialist panel, and provided a unique snapshot into personalised therapeutics for rare cancers, with an emphasis on the forthcoming IL-23 clinical study for sarcoma, supported by CRBF. These heavyweights of sarcoma research in Australia, not only informed our guests as to the far-reaching developments in this field, whilst providing untold hope for the future for anyone faced with a rare cancer diagnosis.
Successful English Channel swimmer, Chris Watson, Jack Gibson, CRBF Patient Advocate, and Jack Racklyeft, ironman each contributed with deeply personal accounts of their support for the dire need for clinical research into sarcoma.
Both George Foley and Mitch Rice-Brading provided raw and thought provoking accounts of their first hand experience of the devastation sarcoma leaves in its wake.
We would like to acknowledge a special guest on the morning, Phil Ryan, Director of Kicking Goals for Xav, a Victorian based sarcoma Foundation which celebrates the outstanding achievement of 10 years of fundraising and awareness, honouring the memory of Xavier Krikori .
Our sincere thanks to the enormous contribution of Anthony Foley, Ross McLean and Laura Honey, and our hosts, Baker McKenzie for their generous support of this event. We would also like to acknowledge the tireless work of the CRBF board of directors, and a special mention to Executive Committee members. Kate Longden and Claire Bonic.
A special mention must also go to Liam Molloy and Exceed Digital Print, North Sydney, for their boundless generosity, in providing our brochures for the morning, together with our thank you cards, free of charge. The finished result was superb, we are infinitely grateful for this unexpected and extremely meaningful gesture.
Finally, we are so very grateful to our guests for braving the elements at that early hour of the morning, to show their support.
CRBF – Aspiring to make sarcoma history…and we’re not giving