At the Australian Cancer Research Foundation we rarely need a reminder, but every so often we speak at length to a supporter like Basia Andrews, who recently lost her husband to cancer, and a shock goes through our organisation. This is what we’re fighting for.

“Gary’s battle with cancer started on the 2^nd July and lasted for twelve and a half weeks,” Basia said.

“I miss all the little things that made our lives so much fun. A thousand little things, the touch of his skin, a thousand gestures.”

“As the cancer ate away at Gary I thought he looked more beautiful. His spirit, grace and dignity shone through more with each passing day…”

This is why we fight – to prevent tragedy, to give hope and, ultimately, to save lives through research. Please click here to donate, or click below to read more.

The Australian Cancer Research Foundation has opened two new world-class cancer research facilities in Melbourne; the new ACRF Rational Drug Discovery Centre at St Vincent’s Institute (SVI) and a new Cancer Imaging Facility at the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research.

These centres represent $4 million in Australian Cancer Research Foundation funding that would not have been made possible without the support of our amazing donors.

The potential for ground breaking discoveries within these world-class facilities is extremely exciting. Each of them houses the latest in advanced drug screening and imaging technologies, promising to find new treatment targets and therapeutic options faster than ever before.

Please find details about each cancer research facility below.

The Australian Cancer Research Foundation is proud to have received 13 world-class cancer research grant applications after submissions for 2013 closed last Friday.

The applications represent a need for $49 million in seed-funding for cutting-edge technologies and facilities, supporting the development of collaborative, innovative cancer research initiatives.

Every year, the Australian Cancer Research Foundation awards up to $10 million in cancer research funding. But this response to our grants shows just how important it is for us to continue fundraising and building the profile of research in Australia.

We received five applications from researchers in NSW, four from Victoria, three from Queensland and one from South Australia – it’s fantastic to see the research expertise within so many States represented in this mix.

After more than a year of planning, fundraising, and physical training, the Headin’ South for a Cure initiative has today reached its climax with a most generous donation of almost $48,000 to the Australian Cancer Research Foundation!

The team of 10 fire fighters from Tasmania, led by co-founders Emma Weitnauer and Tim McKay, campaigned for all of last year in the lead-up to a heroic 14 day cycle; starting in Brisbane and ‘headin south’ to Hobart.

They set out on January 1^st, taking no rest days and battling extreme weather conditions (some days reaching 48 degrees with strong, head on winds and extreme – sometimes catastrophic – fire danger ratings). They averaged more than 160km a day, arriving home on Jan 14^th!

Major sponsor Bendigo Bank were behind the team the whole way, supporting fundraising initiatives and collecting donations to help fight cancer along with the fire-fighters. Today, we have received the full fundraising amount, and we couldn’t be more proud of this incredible team!

A world-first human trial of a new drug has shown promising results in shrinking the most common type of skin cancer, basal-cell carcinoma.

The treatment targets a key gene, the “c-jun” gene, which is present in all of us and when overactive, it can lead to skin cancers and other conditions including macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy.

“It’s a pivotal growth gene, or survival gene,” said Professor Khachigian from the University of NSW.

“We don’t always know why it gets switched on, except in basal-cell carcinomas where we know sunlight turns it on.”

But this new drug treatment, called Dz13, has shown it can not only shrink the cancers triggered by this gene, but encourage the body’s own immune system to join the fight.