Australia’s largest fun run/walk for breast cancer research, the Women in Super Mother’s Day Classic, announced a donation of $2 million to the National Breast Cancer Foundation (NBCF).
The MDC donation – more than double 2020’s donation– will fund vital research to improve the detection, prevention and treatment of breast cancer and help to improve the lives of the 20,000 Australian women who will be diagnosed this year.
“To have over 50,000 people take part in the Mother’s Day Classic Local across 75 locations nationwide was so inspiring during a global pandemic,” Mother’s Day Classic CEO, Zara Lawless, said.
“We were lucky that our community was still able to come together this year, albeit in smaller and more informal locations across Australia. The inspirational MDC community spirit was as strong as ever, showing that nothing will get in our way to raise money for breast cancer research.”
Breast cancer is still the most common cancer in women, with approximately 55 Australians diagnosed every day. Thanks largely to research, we’ve seen the five-year breast cancer survival rate increase from 76 per cent in 1994 to 91 per cent (and rising) in 2021. MDC funding has contributed towards this vital research for the past 24 years since the event began.
MDC community ambassador Michelle with Mother’s Day Classic CEO, Zara Lawless.
“The MDC is honoured to have funded 76 research projects and the 300 Australian scientists behind the projects over the past 24 years since the event’s inception,” Ms Lawless said.
“Our focus has always been about improving the survival of women diagnosed with breast cancer, and thanks to our supporters, we are making a significant contribution to funding research for better outcomes for the one in seven women who will be diagnosed with the disease in their lifetimes.”
The 2021 donation of $2 million takes the total donated by the iconic national event to nearly $40 million, through participation numbers of almost 1.5 million, over the past 24 years.
Some of the research projects the MDC has funded include:
- Detecting genetic changes in blood DNA: a novel way to identify women at risk of developing breast cancer
- A new therapy to overcome radio-resistance in aggressive breast cancer
- Repurposing an FDA approved drug to treat triple-negative breast cancer
- Enhancing the immune response to breast cancer
- Immunotherapy for metastatic breast cancer
- Discovering if exercise and diet can help women with metastatic breast cancer
- Reducing tumour growth through exercise in women with advanced breast cancer and bone metastasis
- A new approach to block treatment resistance in metastatic TNBC and HER2+ breast cancer
“It is my absolute privilege to accept this generous donation from the Mother’s Day Classic Foundation. I am so grateful to the Mother’s Day Classic and their community for donating an amazing $2 million in such difficult times,” said NBCF Chief Executive Officer Professor Sarah Hosking
“Almost $40 Million has been raised so far through this partnership and I cannot express enough how impactful and important that has been to us. It has helped us to fund game-changing breast cancer research all the way from prevention and diagnosis, to treatment and improving quality of life for breast cancer patients.”
Following the success of the 2021 Mother’s Day Classic Local, planning is now underway for the 25th running of the event in 2022 to inspire and unite the community and deliver another extraordinary result for breast cancer research.
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