Breast cancer: please help me find a way to zero deaths

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The Mother’s Day Classic (MDC) walk or run for breast cancer research was established in 1998 – it started from modest beginnings as a walk in the park and has grown into a major national community event.

From the inaugural events in Melbourne and Sydney which attracted approximately 3,200 people, the event has now become an integral part of Mother’s Day morning for more than 135,000 Australians who enjoy getting up early to walk or run and raise money for breast cancer research.

In 2015, a record 105 events across Australia saw participants and fundraisers raise $3.1 million for National Breast Cancer Foundation research programs, taking the total raised over 18 years to $27.4 million.

Sunday 8 May is Mother’s Day this year and my family will again be participating in the Mother’s Day Classic to remember my sister and do something positive to prevent what happened to her from happening to others. On 18 January, 2012 my sister, Mary, passed away after fighting breast cancer for nearly four years. She was one month past her 44th birthday.

In December last year, Mary’s husband, Sam and their son Ned (turned 10 earlier this month) and daughter Lola (8) visited Australia for the first time since Mary’s death. The joy of seeing them was tempered by the intense feeling of sadness that Mary would never see what we were seeing – two delightful children who both reflected different aspects of their mother’s
wonderful personality.

In 2015 I set out to raise $10,000. Thanks to 48 donors I raised $6,510, which ranked me the 4th highest fundraiser out of over 35,000 Melbourne participants and 11th highest fundraiser nationally. So far, my four MDC fundraising campaigns have netted $26,825 in donations. I would like to thank all of you who have made this achievement possible for me, through your support and contributions during the past four campaigns.

In 2016 I continue my role as a Community Champion for MDC.

My goal in the next 4 weeks is to raise $10,000 for breast cancer research, as part of my participation in this year’s MDC.

Once again this year I am asking for your help. I willingly provide InSight each week to you for free. If you have gained at least ten dollars’ worth of value in reading InSight or my blog, I ask you to demonstrate your appreciation by donating $10 to the campaign to beat breast cancer.

Donations are tax deductible and you will receive a tax invoice for your donation which can be made with Visa, Mastercard or American Express.

To donate please visit my MDC fundraising page and click on the DONATE TO ME NOW link (pink button on the top right).

Once again, I thank you for supporting breast cancer research and making a contribution towards preventing this devastating disease which one in nine Australian women have to confront at some stage in their lives.

Eulogy Mary Clennett delivered by Ross Clennett on 1 February 2012
(Ashwell, Herts, UK)

Mary Louise Clennett Tribute Video