Australia’s largest fun run and walk for breast cancer research, the Women in Super Mother’s Day Classic, have announced a donation of $1.5 million to the National Breast Cancer Foundation (NBCF).

This donation will fund vital research to improve the detection, prevention and treatment of breast cancer and help improve the lives of the 57 Australians who are diagnosed every day.

“In May this year, over 50,000 Australians in 67 locations across Australia started their Mother’s Day with purpose, walking or running to support and honour those touched by breast cancer,” said Mother’s Day Classic CEO, Zara Lawless.

At Camden, a well-attended event at Chellaston Reserve featured the walk, BBQ, cake stall, entertainment notably by the Camden Musical Society and lots more.

From 3,000 registered for the first Mother’s Day Classic events in Melbourne and Sydney in 1998, the event has grown, quite literally, from a walk in the park to the iconic, truly national event it is today.  In the event’s 25-year history, over 1.5 million people have taken part.

Breast cancer is the second most commonly diagnosed cancer in the country, with over 20,000 Australians diagnosed each year. Since the Mother’s Day Classic started in 1998, the 5-year survival rate has increased from 84% to 91%, thanks largely to research.

“We are honoured and proud to have funded 79 research projects and over 300 Australian scientists behind the projects since the event’s inception,” Ms Lawless said.

The 2022 donation takes the total donated by the iconic national event to over $41 million.

Some of the research projects the MDC has funded include:

  • New treatment for metastatic triple-negative breast cancer
  • Reprogramming the estrogen receptor to eradicate endocrine-resistant breast cancer
  • Effective Artificial Intelligence in breast cancer screening
  • Detecting genetic changes in blood DNA: a novel way to identify women at risk of developing breast cancer
  • A new therapy to overcome radio-resistance in aggressive breast cancer
  • Repurposing an FDA approved drug to treat triple-negative breast cancer
  • Enhancing the immune response to breast cancer
  • Immunotherapy for metastatic breast cancer

On Sunday, 14 May 2023, the 26th Mother’s Day Classic will once again inspire and unite the community and deliver another extraordinary result for breast cancer research.