Amy was a feisty little redhead who loved ballet, athletics, singing at the school talent show and wearing monster teeth. In her dad’s words, she was an ‘unstoppable force.’ Devastatingly, at age 7, Amy was diagnosed with diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG), an extremely aggressive childhood brain tumour for which there is no known cure. Just 16 months after diagnosis, DIPG would claim Amy’s life. After Amy’s passing, Amy’s dad Ren set about to change the future for children diagnosed with DIPG. ‘Since we lost Amy, I’ve used every ounce of energy to raise money for research that will find the answers to DIPG. My pledge to our little angel is to do everything in my power to find a cure,’ he said.

Ren is embarking on a Million Dollar Mission to raise funds for much needed research in to DIPG, travelling across Australia to ask 1,000 individuals and businesses to donate $1,000 each, and raise a grand total of $1,000,000. Contribute now to Ren’s Million Dollar Mission by donating $1,000 or more, and help us conduct the critical research into DIPG that will help find a cure for this deadly disease.

Your donation will go towards two research projects at Children's Cancer Institute, led by Professor David Ziegler and Dr Maria Tsoli:

Project 1: Targeting apoptosis in DIPG

The Brain Tumours Group has been working on new treatments for DIPG using various experimental models. They have found that the cell death regulation pathways in DIPG cells are vital for the cancer’s survival, so targeting these cells could be effective. Already there are promising results with some drugs that induce cell death, but to make these treatments even better the team plans to combine them with other drugs and test them using advanced technology and genetic screening. The goal is to find the best drug combinations and prepare for clinical trials.

Project 2: Exploring the brain microenvironment in DIPG

In this project, the Brain Tumours Group will study tissue samples from patients and will map out how tumour cells interact with other brain cells. Using advanced techniques, they will explore the complex interactions within DIPG tumours and focus on how tumour cells, neurons, astrocytes and macrophages/microglia talk to each other. By combining different scientific methods, the aim is to understand how these interactions make the tumour grow, avoid the immune system, and resist treatments. This knowledge could lead to new ways to target the tumour and hopefully will improve treatment outcomes for patients.

A big thank you to everyone who has donated