Russell Matheson (Macarthur, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This weekend I took part in the Camden Rotary Relay for Life at the Camden showground. More than 1,000 people came together for the event, which raised over $100,000 for the New South Wales Cancer Council with more money expected to come in this week. I would like to publicly congratulate the Rotary Club of Camden for their hard work organising this event, especially its committee members: Greg Eagles, Chris Evans, Bruce Farquharson, John Lee, Rowan Moore, Peter Claxton, Kevyn Moore, Ken Macaulay, Alan Redman, Dylan Evans, Lindsey Thomas, Tania and Brian Franzman, Cindy Cagney, Jo de Souza, Aaron Hodges, John Saunderson, Stephen Humphries, Warwick Richardson and Ross Newport.

The Relay for Life brings members of the community together for a night of fun, entertainment, celebration and remembrance. Each Relay for Life event is organised by a local volunteer committee on behalf of the Cancer Council. The atmosphere in Camden on Saturday was electric, with everybody coming together to celebrate life, remember those we have lost, support local carers and offer hope to those living with cancer. On Saturday I met with Team Footprints, a team made up of two families who have both lost their mums to cancer. The Spain family walk each year in memory of their mum, Jill, who died from lung cancer in 2007. Their friends the Barry family walk to remember their mum, Cathy, who died in 2006 from breast cancer. The group have been friends for many years and said that taking part in such a positive event is what their mum's would have wanted. This is the fourth relay the group have taken part in. The first walk was on the first anniversary of Jill's death. The group thought it would be a nice way to honour her fight against cancer.

When I met the families on Saturday, they said they supported the Cancer Council because it raised money for research and drug trials which gave them extra time with their mum. Jill was extremely sick when she began a medical trial 16 months before she died. The trial was working really well and Jill went from being on an oxygen tank to going to the gym and walking on a treadmill. The tumours were shrinking but unfortunately the trial drug eventually stopped working. The Spain family said the trial gave them an extra 14 good-quality months with their mum and that inspired them to help raise funds for the Cancer Council each year.

The Cancer Council is Australia's leading cancer charity and is dedicated to beating cancer through research. Its groundbreaking work in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer has saved thousands of lives. Sadly, statistics show that one in two of us will still get cancer at some point in our lives. On Saturday I learnt that more than 200 people are diagnosed with cancer in the Camden local government area each year. The Cancer Council's vital work, funded entirely by the public, will help ensure that thousands will survive. On Saturday I was very moved to see local survivors and carers walk the first lap of the event together while the rest of us cheered them on. A candlelight ceremony of hope was held at dusk to remember those who we have lost to cancer, and many locals made a personal pledge on how they would make a change to help fight cancer. I felt very proud to see so many people from my community come together on Saturday night to support each other and share in a common hope for a future without cancer, a future where families like the Spain and Barry families would never have to say goodbye to the ones they love.