Lions are on a mission to cure childhood cancer

September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, and Lions are calling on all Australians to stand with them in backing the life-changing work of the Australian Lions Childhood Cancer Research Foundation (ALCCRF).

Since 2009, the ALCCRF, with the help of Lions volunteers and their communities, has raised over $13 million to fund vital research into childhood cancer.

This includes the successful $4 million Lions project with Australia’s Garvan Institute which mapped the genome of over 400 children with cancer, to advance research and to guide personalised treatment.

The Zero Childhood Cancer Program has now expanded to enable all Australians with cancer aged 0-18 years being able to benefit from life-changing DNA sequencing.

“Childhood Cancer is a silent pandemic. Every year in Australia, almost 1,000 kids are diagnosed with cancers, many of them aggressive, hard to treat and with a high risk of mortality. Although the survival rates have improved greatly for some cancers, others still take a heavy toll on our young peoples’ lives,” says ALCCRF Chairperson Ron Skeen.

“This funding truly is changing and saving lives and we ask Australians to join us in ensuring more vital work continues in childhood cancer research.”

In recent years, the ALCCRF has also been supporting the vital work of Telethon Kids Cancer Centre (formally known as Telethon Kids Institute).

Over $1.2 million worth of funding over the past 5 years has enabled the Telethon Kids Cancer Centre to continue its leading research into childhood cancer – particularly in the area of cancer immunotherapy, which focuses on supercharging the body’s natural defenses to destroy cancer cells.

An additional $375,000 will be provided to the institute over the next three years.

Support has not only fueled groundbreaking research, but has also helped the ALCCRF secure one of Western Australia’s biggest-ever philanthropic donations.

The Stan Perron Charitable Foundation will contribute a transformative $135.5 million over the next decade to advance the foundation’s mission of improving outcomes for children with cancer.

This significant funding will build on the vital work being undertaken at the Cancer Centre and Perth Children’s Hospital.

Together, we can make a profound difference in the fight against childhood cancer. Find out more about the ALCCRF and how you can support their life-saving work here.