News

Childhood Cancer Awareness Month – Brain Cancer Awareness Day


In 2019, Minister for Health, Greg Hunt, proclaimed 26 September as Australia’s annual Childhood Brain Cancer Awareness Day.

The aim of this day is to raise public awareness of the impact of childhood brain cancer on these precious children and their families and to highlight the importance of childhood brain cancer research.

Each year on this day there is a focus on one form of childhood brain cancer and for 2021 it is Medulloblastoma. The type of brain cancer that Dainere was diagnosed with and that stole her young life, along with the lives of many other Australian Children.

Medulloblastoma is the second most common type of childhood cancer of the central nervous system. It accounts for 13 percent of cases of brain cancer cases.

Tragically, incidence rates of Medulloblastoma have increased by 1.4 percent per year on average over the past three decades.

While this may sound like a small percentage increase, in total it equates to a shocking 58 percent increase over a 35-year period.

Sadly, the reasons behind this trend are unclear: advances in diagnostic technology and increasing population may very slightly contribute.

Heartbreakingly, survival for medulloblastoma still severely falls behind many other types of childhood cancer.

We acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land where we meet and work, the Ngunnawal people, and the many other Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples from across Australia who have now made Canberra their home. We celebrate and respect their continuing culture and the contribution they make to the life of the ACT and region.

Dainere's Rainbow is a not for profit organisation - 100% of all funds raised or donated go to childhood brain cancer research at Sydney Children's Hospital
Our Corporate Partners
2024 Gala Dinner Corporate Partners

Sydney Children's Hospital Foundation are proud to display the new Registered Charity Tick from the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC), which aims to gives reassurance to the public that the charities they support are transparent and accountable. We rely on your donations and volunteering to ensure we can continue our vital work, so we want you to know your support is making a difference. Where you see the logo, it means the charity is registered with the ACNC so the public can easily find out what they do, who their beneficiaries are, how they are governed and how they manage their finances.