LEAVE A GIFT IN YOUR WILL

“When I was diagnosed with breast cancer 22 years ago at age 48 I was shocked.  I was as health conscious then as I am today and always mindful to have regular health checks.  I remember the day a lump was found on an ultrasound test – it was April 1996, the week before Easter.

I recall the sense of urgency that surrounded the whole process.

To my knowledge there was no family history of breast cancer.  I found it difficult to tell my elderly parents, and when I told the rest of my family and work colleagues, they were all stunned with my diagnosis.  On a positive note, it did prompt those around me to have themselves checked. 

I am aware that my experience will not be the same for everyone diagnosed.  Not every breast cancer is the same, and therefore there is a need to do more trials research to identify better treatment options.  I want better outcomes and I want women to be better informed. I don’t want accolades, I just want to help.

Leaving a gift in my Will to Breast Cancer Trials was an important and very personal decision for me.  

It’s easy to do and I’d encourage everyone to think about leaving a gift in their Will to Breast Cancer Trials after you have discussed your wishes with loved ones.  

Most people don’t realise that even a small gift can help towards having the greatest impact.  

My hope is that my gift will help more women and families to benefit from individualised treatment options.  Besides early detection, I am a very passionate advocate for clinical trials research.  I know that my gift can help to discover better treatments and offer more choices that weren’t available when I was diagnosed.  I know it will keep on helping others.”

Dedicated supporter Faye Purnell has certainly made this her mantra for life as she strives to help change the future for all women at risk of breast cancer. 

Since Faye started supporting Breast Cancer Trials in 2000, she has raised over an incredible $23,000 for breast cancer clinical trials research – and generously pledged to leave Breast Cancer Trials a gift in her Will.  

Faye’s unwavering dedication to support life-saving research conducted by Breast Cancer Trials comes from personal experience. In 1999 at the age of 58, Faye was diagnosed with breast cancer. Faye didn’t require chemotherapy or radiation, and underwent a mastectomy.  She vividly remembers her arrival at the hospital for her operation, a long winter weekend in June. After her surgery, Faye was given promising news that she was eligible to participate in a clinical trial to prove whether tamoxifen is effective in reducing breast cancer rates for women with a high risk of developing the disease. 

At the completion of the five-year trial, closely monitored by Breast Cancer Trials’ founder, Professor Forbes, it was recommended to Faye that she continued taking Tamoxifen for a further five years to help prevent her cancer from returning. 

Without pioneers like Faye, we would not be able to conduct life-saving breast cancer clinical trials.

Faye had no family history that she knew of, so it was a shock to receive her diagnosis.  Knowing all too well this disease can be devastating to families, she now advocates for breast cancer clinical trials research.  

Faye’s first fundraising event was a wool challenge at the Festival of Fleece in Merriwa, where Faye’s team took out the world championship, sheering sheep, spinning the wool and knitting a jumper in just over five hours. 

At one of her fundraisers in Merriwa, she recalls her doctor, Professor Forbes saying, “You never know who the research is going to help next.” 

This resonated with her, along with her own experience of breast cancer and she continues to fundraise every year hosting jewellery parties, morning teas and Melbourne Cup fundraisers. For her annual Bake for Breast Cancer morning tea, Faye bakes 12 dozen of her delicious scones – a morning tea not to miss! 

When asked what she’d say to other people considering leaving a gift in their Will, Faye said; “You are going to help a lot of other women. Research benefits continue through the generations.”

Faye enjoys her life immensely and cherishes each day. There is no stopping this amazing woman from her achieving her goals. 

Together we are working to ensure every person affected by breast cancer receives a treatment which will cure them of their disease forever, freeing them to live their lives and pursue their dreams alongside family and friends.

“My twin sister Gwenneth was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 47. She was living in England, but I was on the phone to her all the time as she went through treatment.  Twenty-five years later, her breast cancer returned.

It was terrible for her to have to go through it again, and it must have been difficult to live with the fear it might return, and have that fear realised so many years later.

With my sister affected by breast cancer, plus other friends, it means a lot to me to be able to contribute.  I see such value in the research that finds more treatments – and it’s wonderful to know that many more women’s lives are being saved today than ever before. I’m delighted that my gift will further our understanding of breast cancer and help more people to overcome it.”

Miss Woodcock was a loyal supporter of Breast Cancer Trials and left a very generous bequest gift of $450,000.

She was generous in both her passing and life. Kindly donating $153,000 to support our breast cancer trials research over 16 years which has helped to support many significant advances in breast cancer clinical trials research which are today saving lives.

In the many conversations we shared, Miss Woodcock expressed how important breast cancer research was to her as she had a friend die of breast cancer and others who had been affected by the disease.

A lover of animals, who never married, Miss Woodcock loved the arts, cricket, tennis, chocolate and travel.

Miss Woodcock’s generosity of $14,000,000 spanned in a wide-reaching way to 15 charities overall, with the vast majority of her estate left to local and national organisations. Just to name a few of the other charities who also benefited from her kindness were Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service, Salvation Army, RSPCA, Vision Australia, Guide Dogs and Scots Kirk Presbyterian Church.

When asked ‘Why these charities?” by her cousin, Miss Woodcock’s reply was ‘Because I’ve known them for many years or known of them and their work. I have made friends and have seen their appreciation and respect of my support and feel and trust they have and will use my final gifts well for the benefit our community…”

Miss Woodcock’s generous bequest will help to support the clinical trials research program conducted by Breast Cancer Trials, including research in the important area of prevention.

Valerie would love to know that a cure is possible one day or a long-term treatment that will help women overcome their breast cancer. That’s why she has left a gift to Breast Cancer Trials in her Will.

In 2005, when Valerie was aged 50 she was told that she had breast cancer after a regular screening mammogram. She remembers getting ‘that’ phone call to attend the Lyell McEwin Hospital for an ultrasound followed by a needle biopsy at Goodward Hospital. She still recalls the shock and the fear that she felt.  She then wrote letters to her loved ones just in case.

Valerie moved to Australia from England in 1974 to be with Bill, who had migrated from Belfast in 1972. After arriving in February, Valerie and Bill were engaged on St Patrick’s Day and later married in November that same year. In October of the following year, Valerie and Bill were blessed with a daughter.

When Valerie moved from England, she left behind her family including her twin sister Helen. Valerie was quite the surprise delivery for her parents. After her mother Maggie had given birth to Helen, the midwife told her to expect another baby. Maggie’s doctor had told her she was just having a very big baby!

Helen was there to support Valerie over the phone through her breast cancer diagnosis and treatment, along with Bill, her daughter and friends. Valerie said it was times like that, you need the support of family and friends.

Valerie had a lumpectomy and some lymph nodes removed followed by radiotherapy for five days a week, for five weeks. She was very frightened at the thought of this. And she cried.  A lot.  Bill would drive her to the train station where she would catch the train to the city and then a tram or bus to the hospital. She would have her 3 minute ‘zap’ and then do the return trip home. To help Valerie overcome her fear of radiotherapy the oncology nurse had photos of Elvis Presley posted around the ‘donut’ but she was too frightened to open her eyes during her treatment.

When Valerie looks back on her life since her diagnosis, other than losing her husband Bill in 2008, she feels lucky. Her life went back to normal following her treatment. She feels lucky because she can spend time in the garden and with her loved ones and family. She can listen to the radio with the volume turned up and she has lots of friends around her.

She wants others to have their ‘normal’ back too. She doesn’t want young women to have to go through the rigors of chemotherapy or radical surgeries. That’s why Valerie donates regularly to Breast Cancer Trials and has left a gift in her Will.

Paul made the decision to leave a gift in his Will to Breast Cancer Trials, in honour of his late wife Fran.

“My late wife Fran was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 56 in 2001.  She passed away four years later.  

To watch a beautiful woman, someone you love, absolutely wrecked by treatment was very difficult.

I have confirmed with my family that I’ve included Breast Cancer Trials in my Will, and they’re 110 percent behind the decision.

Supporting Breast Cancer Trials appeals to me because I might be able to save another family from loss or give someone a prolonged life.

It’s distressing to know that girls and women live with the risk of breast cancer – just because they are female.  I’d like my gift to help change that.

If women and families don’t have to live with that shadow over them anymore, that would be a fantastic thing.”