Charity golf day supports leukaemia research
New Delhi: A charity golf day held at Joondalup Resort this month raised $30,000 to support a research project at The University of Western Australia that is developing precision diagnostics for leukaemia.
More than 100 members of Joondalup Country Club and their family and friends participated in the Dato Dr TK Low Charity Golf Day for an enjoyable afternoon of golf, but with an important goal, to raise money for research into early detection of deadly blood cancers.
Blood cancers are one of the most common types of cancer in Australia with more than 4,000 Australian fatalities from the disease every year. The incidence of blood cancers is growing and they are expected to become the most common types of cancer in Australia by 2035.
“When you see what an individual with leukaemia goes through, it highlights why the work of scientists is so very important.”
Professor Wendy Erber
The Translational Cancer Pathology Laboratory at UWA, led by Professor Wendy Erber from the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, is applying new technologies to improve the care of patients with leukaemia and other blood cancers.
Professor Erber has been on a lifelong quest, focusing her passion for health on uncovering new approaches to improve leukaemia diagnostics.
In 2018, her team including Associate Professor Kathy Fuller and Dr Henry Hui, invented a sophisticated rapid automated leukaemia detection method named “immuno-flowFISH” that will benefit patients with leukaemia. This game-changing achievement was awarded the 2018 Australian Museum ANSTO Eureka Prize for Innovative Use of Technology.
Professor Erber said the generosity of the Joondalup Country Club members and Dato Dr TK Low, raising much needed funds, would allow the team to progress their work on blood cancers.
“When you see what an individual with leukaemia goes through, it highlights why the work of scientists is so very important,” Professor Erber said. “The generous donation made by Dato Dr TK Low and Joondalup Country Club and its members, will be of enormous help in progressing our work to improve the health and well-being of patients and translate our work into clinical care in the near future.”
Joondalup Golf and Country Club Chief Executive Sam Lee said the club was pleased to support an important cause.
“The community is privileged to support this research to help treat leukaemia and improve the health, wellbeing and the lives of people who have unfortunately been affected by this terrible disease,” he said.