Friday, 13 May 2022 was The Kids’ Cancer Project’s Pirate Day, an annual day of dressing up to raise awareness and vital funds for childhood brain cancer research.
Buccaneers across the country were encouraged to jump aboard with their schools, early learning centres or workplaces and don their best pirate outfits for a good cause on Pirate Day or throughout Brain Cancer Awareness Month in May.
950 children are diagnosed with cancer each year, and brain cancer kills more children in Australia than any other disease. With research the only way towards a cure, The Kids’ Cancer Project is committed to funding vital scientific research projects that investigate childhood brain cancer and endeavour to find kinder treatment options.
In 2022, all funds raised for Pirate Day will be directly supporting the critical research of Dr Dannielle Upton.
Dr Upton from the Children’s Cancer Institute is investigating potential therapies for one of the deadliest childhood brain cancers, diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG). DIPG typically affects children aged five to seven and is the leading cause of death from brain tumours in children. The disease is inoperable and currently has a zero percent survival rate, with a prognosis of just nine to twelve months survival from the point of diagnosis.
“Brain cancer is a devastating disease, even more so when it affects children,” Dr Upton says.
“Anything that raises awareness will help research efforts with the hope of finding a cure, and Pirate Day is a fantastic initiative that raises awareness and crucial funds for this research.”
Dr Upton was part of a team of brain cancer researchers that tested thousands of clinically available drugs against DIPG samples. Now she is further investigating Auranofin, a drug that was originally developed to treat rheumatoid arthritis but could bring hope to children going through DIPG and their loved ones.
“DIPG is the most aggressive of all childhood cancers. There are no effective treatments; current therapeutic strategies are palliative only. Innovative treatment approaches are urgently needed to counter the ongoing poor prognosis of DIPG.”
The Kids’ Cancer Project set sail on Pirate Day on Friday, 13 May 2022, but schools, early learning centres, businesses and community groups are invited to jump aboard anytime in May and gather ye hearties to raise awareness and much-needed funds for Pirate Day 2022.
Since 2015, Pirate Day has raised more than $475,000, with the support helping The Kids’ Cancer Project to provide funding for scientific researchers investigating better treatments for childhood brain cancer.
Register for Pirate Day: https://www.pirateday.com.au/
Donate directly to The Kids’ Cancer Project online thekidscancerproject.org.au
