Supporters

Clare Oliver Foundation

The Clare Oliver Melanoma Fund has been established to honour the courage and bravery of Clare Oliver. Clare Oliver loved and embraced life. She was just 26 when she lost her battle with cancer, on 13 September 2007. Three years ago, she noticed a strange lump under her arm that was diagnosed as a Melanoma. This lump was cut out and her cancer scare made her even more determined to get on with her life. Clare travelled to Europe and went on to complete her second university degree.

But cancer came back and Clare took on the fight for her life. She reflected on the ‘why’ and made a connection with her use of solariums and sun exposure and her Melanoma. Clare was searching for perceived ideals of beauty and thought that a golden tan was necessary to attain that ideal. She, like so many other young people, used solariums in the belief that this was something akin to good health.

Clare became aware of the dangers of solarium use. She used her remaining time and energy to make certain that the rest of Australia heard and responded to that message. Skin protection from the sun and from rays is the message she shouted loud and clear. Melanoma awareness is the legacy Clare wanted to leave behind.

Throughout her campaign for Melanoma awareness Clare touched the hearts of the community, and governments are now focusing more on this serious health issue. Associate Professor Grant McArthur, a medical oncologist at Melbourne’s Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, was Clare’s doctor and the first to praise her courage and determination. ‘Clare has taught us all about the importance of speaking out. Her voice will make a difference.’

100% of proceeds from the fund will be directed to Melanoma research, focusing on research collaborations between leading melanoma research and treatment centres.

John BrustmannFund

Friends-R-4 John Brustman Memorial Golf Day was a charity project undertaken by the Rotary Club of Williamstown in 2010 to raise money for cancer research projects. The 2010 Golf Day raised over $60,000 for to support clinical trials using Genomics to tailor medication for specific forms of melanoma – the skin cancer which took John as one of its many victims only last year. John Brustman was a well known Communal identity was best known for his outstanding contribution Victorian Amateur Football and the AJAX Football Club.

The Emily Tapp Melanoma Foundation

The Emily Tapp Melanoma Foundation is a not for profit organisation that educates Australians in the prevention and early detection of Skin Cancer and especially melanoma. The Foundation aims to reach as many people as possible to encourage the use of sun protection and the importance of early detection, which is vital.

Since loosing Emily to melanoma in 2006, the foundation has worked tirelessly promoting awareness, early detection and prevention at numerous outdoor and sporting events. The foundation organises a number of events during the year, including the annual MARCH for MELANOMA, which supports melanoma patients and survivors, including the opportunity for family and friends to remember loved ones taken by this deadly cancer. Donations from this event help support vital research being conducted by the Melbourne Melanoma Project.

For further details on upcoming events, please visit http://www.emilysfoundation.org.au/.