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 Stay up-to-date on the latest cancer research, fundraising news, and general news from Peter Mac. 

Research

Global teamwork brings hope for people with rare cancers

Across the world, researchers are joining forces to solve one of the toughest challenges: how to find better, kinder, more effective treatments for rare cancers like sarcoma. At Peter Mac, this work...Read more

5 March 2026
5 March 2026
General News

Celebrating our 2026 Lea Medal Recipients on International Women’s Day
26 February 2026
General News

Finding new hope for ovarian cancer patients
10 February 2026
General News

Launching the Foundation’s new strategy!
5 February 2026
Patient

Cam’s rare sarcoma – and the year of treatment that saved him

23 December 2025
General News

What your support helped us achieve in 2025

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Cam loved the feeling of being unstoppable – until one day, he wasn’t. It began as pain on the side of his face. And headaches. At first, doctors diagnosed a sinus infection, then cluster headaches. But the pain worsened, until Cam was in agony. It was rhabdomyosarcoma: a rare and aggressive tumour near Cam’s brain. Within 48 hours, Cam was at Peter Mac beginning intensive treatment. At just 18, when most young people are dreaming about their future, he was fighting to have one. His mum, Judy, felt helpless as treatment took its toll. 💬 “The first rounds of chemo were the strongest and resulted in trips to the ED and subsequent hospital stays. It was not only physically taxing, but also emotionally depleting on Cam, as well as his dad, brother and me... it was the toughest year of my life” – Judy, Cam’s mum. Cancer treatment still looks like this for too many families. But at Peter Mac, researchers are working to unlock new treatments for all cancers. So people like Cam can survive cancer and get back to the lives they love. Read more: foundation.petermac.org/cam
Income protection, check. Superannuation, check. Finally returned that regrettable late-night online shopping impulse purchase, check. But your Will? If it’s still sitting on the life admin list, we’ve just made it a whole lot easier. Peter Mac has partnered with Safewill to offer our supporters the chance to create a free, legally valid Will during Charity Wills Week (16–30 March). It only takes around 20 minutes online and gives you peace of mind knowing your wishes are clear and your loved ones are protected. Many people also choose this moment to reflect on the legacy they’d like to leave. While there’s absolutely no obligation, you can choose to include a gift to Peter Mac in your Will to support life-saving cancer research and care into the future. ✔ Simple online process ✔ Legally binding ✔ Reviewed by an Australian solicitor ✔ FREE Tick it off your life admin list before 30 March by heading to the link in bio.
This cancer type is rare, which makes it hard to study. But researchers at Peter Mac know how to tackle it. 🤝 For sarcoma and other rare cancers, collaboration is key. When cancers are rare, there are too few patients in one place. This means few clinical trials to learn from. Not enough evidence to guide the best way forward. Professor David Gyorki is passionate about changing this. Prof Gyorki connects cancer centres around the world to improve treatments for sarcomas. The researchers share knowledge, compare results, and build the evidence. 💬 “Because it's a group of rare cancers, we have this group of global sarcoma experts all with a commitment to improving outcomes. We're dedicated to learning from each other,” says Prof Gyorki. Every study, every trial, every shared dataset adds to our understanding of how to stop cancer sooner. Cancer research is a worldwide effort. Through Peter Mac, you can help. Read more: foundation.petermac.org/profdavidgyorki
For International Women’s Day 2026, we celebrate all the outstanding women in research at Peter Mac. The Peter MacCallum Cancer Foundation established the annual Lea Medal ten years ago to support women in the early to mid-stage of their research careers. Women awarded the Lea Medal receive $50,000 to both pursue important cancer research and continue developing as researchers and leaders during this crucial time in their careers. This year, the Lea Medal was awarded to Dr Aparna Rao, Dr Deborah Meyran and Associate Professor Safeera Hussainy. To read more about their incredible research initiatives – which were enabled by our generous donors – head to the link in bio.
Understanding how ovarian cancer treatment succeeds or fails may be the key to improving outcomes for this devastating disease. This Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month, we acknowledge the many women and families who have faced ovarian cancer. The deadliest cancer affecting Australian women, nearly half of all women diagnosed with ovarian cancer sadly do not survive. New treatment approaches are urgently needed. We’re proud to spotlight the Bowtell Lab at Peter Mac and its work to transform ovarian cancer outcomes, by uncovering how treatment resistance develops, what drives long-term survival, and advocating for genetic testing. Learn more about our research to improve the landscape of ovarian cancer treatment and bring new hope for women diagnosed at the link in bio.
Could exercise be part of the key to managing the significant side effects of an innovative blood cancer treatment? Although CAR T-cell therapy has been revolutionary in blood cancer treatment, it is associated with significant symptoms such as pain, extreme fatigue, confusion and difficulty walking. Exercise has been shown to help manage symptoms and improve physical function for people receiving other blood cancer treatments, but we don’t yet know how effective it is for patients receiving CAR T-cell therapy. As the number of patients with cancer receiving CAR T-cell therapy continues to grow, Peter Mac researcher and Foundation Grant recipient Associate Professor Lara Edbrooke is eager to explore if exercise can help these patients manage the unpleasant side effects. Using a remotely-delivered exercise intervention, Associate Professor Edbrooke will study changes in patients’ exercise and behaviour before and after they receive CAR T-cell therapy. The intervention will include supervised exercise to manage symptoms and improve physical function, and strategies to help sustain long-term exercise. This research – the first of its kind in Australia – can potentially create valuable knowledge that improves the experience of patients with blood cancer being treated with CAR T-cell therapy. Thank you for supporting research that finds new ways to improve care and treatment for people with cancer.
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