Far North Queensland mum and Mareeba Shire Councillor, Amy Braes, is proudly wearing a new buzzed look after shaving her head to launch a bold, national fundraising project for ovarian cancer.
Five years ago, Amy’s Mum, Karen, died from ovarian cancer. Amy is now vowing to raise at least one million dollars to help drive research into detection, treatment and prevention.
“I’m doing this in honour of my incredible Mum. She was so brave, she was a fighter and such a positive inspiration to so many people after she was diagnosed with Stage 4 ovarian cancer in 2016,” Cr Braes said.
“Back then, we were shocked to learn there was no early detection test for ovarian cancer, and that’s still the case today. It’s time to start the chat and build the buzz for ovarian cancer.”
She is aiming to raise one million dollars by this time next year to support the Ovarian Cancer Research Foundation (OCRF).
“While progress in research has been made during the past decade there’s still a long way to go to improve outcomes against what is the most lethal cancer for women,” Cr Braes said.
OCRF Fundraising and Partnerships Director, Georgie Herbert said community-led initiatives played a vital role.
“The OCRF is the largest independent funder of ovarian cancer research and 100% community-funded, playing a vital role in progressing research into this devastating disease. In the past 15 years, ovarian cancer research has received less than 1% of Australian Government medical research funding, despite being the most lethal gynaecological cancer, with five-year survival below 50%,” Ms Herbert said.
“We are blown away by Amy’s ambition and passion for the cause. Support from fundraisers like the one Amy is launching today helps fund the critical research needed to find the disease earlier and treat it more effectively, so women like Karen are not lost too soon.”
Cr Braes said the campaign is designed to bring communities together around a shared goal.
“Across Australia, we know there is a strong drive for change. Every time a woman loses her life to ovarian cancer, people seek answers,” she said.
“Early detection is one of the most important answers, and the pathway to achieving it is research. We must change this, and we can if enough people support this campaign. Every dollar can make a difference, and just two dollars is tax deductible!”
Donations to Amy’s one million dollar project can be made through the OCRF website link at
https://www.ocrf.com.au/fundraise/start-the-chat.-build-the-buzz.-overcome-ovarian-cancer or searching Google for ‘Amy Braes Start the chat. Build the buzz’.
“This is for my Mum, but this is also for every woman currently battling ovarian cancer, for their families, and for future generations as we keep driving positive change,” Cr Braes said.
