National Breast Cancer Foundation

Support me to GO PINK!

For Tanya 💗

This is my gorgeous sister Tanya during her breast cancer treatment, rocking short hair as it grew back after her first rounds of chemo.

Tan died from breast cancer in late 2009, aged 39. She was diagnosed at just 32, which felt incredibly young at the time. Devastatingly, more and more women are now being diagnosed even earlier.

Seventeen years on, and sometimes it still feels like yesterday. Grief has a way of showing up quietly, in the moments I would normally share with her, the conversations we would be having, or the things I know she would understand without me needing to explain.

She left behind two darling children, aged 3 and 12. As you can imagine, their lives, and all of ours, were forever changed.

What makes this even more confronting is that breast cancer is still impacting so many lives every single day. In Australia, 56 people are diagnosed daily, and 9 lose their lives to this disease. These are not just numbers. They are mothers, daughters, sisters, friends.

This is why I am Going Pink.

This June, I have made a pledge to wear it, colour it, or do whatever I can to help raise funds for world-class breast cancer research. Research that saves lives. Research that gives families more time. Research that brings us closer to a future where no one has to go through what Tanya, and so many others, have endured.

There has been real progress in treatments since 2009, and that gives me hope. But there is still more to do, and I want to be part of keeping that momentum going.

No one should have to endure the heartbreak, pain, and ripple effects this disease brings to women and their families.

If this story resonates with you, I would be so grateful for your support. Whether that is through a donation, sharing this page, or simply prioritising your own health and encouraging others to do the same.

Together, we can help move closer to a future of zero deaths from breast cancer.

For Tanya 💗