Every week in Australia three children and young adolescents die from cancer. This is three too many.
While survival rates of cancer in children are improving due to progress in medical research – of the 1,000 children and young adolescents diagnosed each year, 80% survive – the Children’s Cancer Institute (CCI) is tirelessly working towards a world with Zero Childhood Cancer where no child’s life is taken due to a cancer diagnosis.
And even though progress has been made on children surviving cancer, some treatments are so brutal on their young bodies that they lead to debilitating side effects – and sometimes the cancer comes back.
At this year’s CEO Dare to Cure, Australia’s top executives will be plunging into ice baths, eating bugs, getting cosy with snakes, walking on hot coals and glass, shaving their heads and eyebrows, and getting tattoos – all in the name of supporting the CCI, which is working around the clock to find better treatments and a cure.
“It’s a fantastic cause and I want it to become a must-do event on the calendars of Australia’s business leaders,” The CEO Magazine’s CEO and Founder, Chris Dutton, says. “More CEOs taking part equals more money raised – and that means a better chance of putting an end to childhood cancer.”
Last year’s event raised around half a million dollars, but this year the CCI wants to raise the bar, getting more CEOs on board to raise more funds than ever.
The support from more CEOs will significantly increase funding for the Institute at a pivotal time where progress towards a cure for childhood cancer is making headway rapidly.
“It’s a fantastic cause and I want it to become a must-do event on the calendars of Australia’s business leaders … “More CEOs taking part equals more money raised – and that means a better chance of putting an end to childhood cancer.”
“This event needs to be on every business leader’s radar,” Chris says. “The more CEOs and business leaders that get involved, the better.”
Chris, who wants to take on as many dares as he can on the day, is excited to take on the challenge of the flying trapeze and walking on hot coals or glass.
But he can’t decide because he wants to do them all. “The ice bucket challenge will be fun, too.” He’s even considering a tattoo. “If I got a tattoo, I think I’d probably do something relevant to the event,” he says.
How can you get involved? Register now to take part in CEO Dare to Cure, held at the Fleet Steps in the Royal Botanic Gardens in Sydney on the morning of Friday 6 September 2019 from 6.30am, or simply donate to Chris’s CEO Dare to Cure fundraising page now. This is your chance to make an impact and help the Children’s Cancer Institute fund research to find a cure for children cancer.
