Medical research, innovative treatments and compassionate care are transforming healthcare and saving lives. Before the end of the financial year, the NORTH Foundation is calling on the community to help shape the future of healthcare with a tax-deductible donation.
For Carolyn Talbot, the impact of that research is deeply personal.
“Life is precious. It becomes even more precious when you hear the words ‘you have cancer’,” Carolyn said. “I’ve heard those words twice.”
First diagnosed with breast cancer in 2008, Carolyn faced a very different experience to her mother, who had died from the disease decades earlier when treatment options were limited. Advances in early detection, tailored therapies and new medications meant Carolyn could access more personalised treatment and recover with minimal side effects.
More than a decade later, Carolyn heard those words again – this time it was pancreatic cancer.
“I thought I might be facing my last Christmas,” she said. “But the care I received and the advances in treatment gave me hope when I needed it most.”
Under the care of Professor Stephen Clarke OAM, senior medical oncologist at Royal North Shore Hospital, Carolyn received a personalised treatment plan that included surgery followed by adjuvant chemotherapy.
“Neoadjuvant or adjuvant therapy has become standard care on the North Shore campus,” Professor Clarke explained. “By treating circulating cancer cells before they spread, it has helped transform outcomes for patients. Our multidisciplinary approach has led to the best pancreatic survival rates in Australia.”
Six years later, Carolyn remains cancer-free.
“I am deeply grateful to be living a full, active life – travelling, staying well and sharing precious time with family and friends,” she said. “Medical research and innovative treatments gave me that chance.”
Carolyn’s experience is one of many that demonstrates the real-world impact of medical research.
At 23, Sam Ledo was training to become a professional football player when he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, a chronic condition with no cure.
“Everything changed overnight,” Sam said. “I lost my health, my football dream and my sense of what the future could look like.”
After years of decline, Sam was offered a haematopoietic stem cell transplant at Royal North Shore Hospital – an advanced treatment developed through decades of medical research.
“Medical research gave me hope,” he said. “Within months, I was walking again and starting to rebuild my life.”
Today, Sam has a brighter future. He is helping coach his local football team and raising a young family.
“I’m living a life I once thought was impossible,” he said.
Through donations, the NORTH Foundation supports leading medical research, equipment and innovation that improves diagnosis, treatment and patient outcomes. In the past year alone, philanthropic support has helped deliver significant progress, including new cancer care initiatives, advanced surgical technology, enhanced rehabilitation facilities and improved training for clinicians.
As the end of the financial year approaches, the NORTH Foundation is urging Australians to support the next wave of breakthroughs.
Behind every life transformed is a commitment to research, innovation and compassionate care made possible by donors.
A tax-deductible donation before 30 June will help fund the discoveries and treatments that give patients hope – today and into the future.
Donate today.
