Caroline Kelly
In the months after her husband’s diagnosis with pancreatic cancer, Caroline and Avner co-founded a fund to make a difference to those affected by one of the most lethal cancers. Sadly Avner, like 95% of patients diagnosed with this disease succumbed to it months later, a statistic that hasn’t really improved in the last 50 years. Caroline and her two co-directors, have continued to lead the foundation, passionately focused on improving the statistics and outcomes for patients. More than $1.7 million has been raised through charity walks and dinners, and through the support of companies such as Woolworths, Coca-Cola Amatil and Wellcom, as well as countless individuals and volunteers. This money has already funded a trial, is funding cutting edge research into sequencing the genes of pancreatic cancer and the next initiative is for a pilot into providing home nursing in the final nights of a patient’s life in their home. Caroline works full-time running the foundation in hope of improving the statistics for future generations.
http://www.avnersfund.org.au/
Photographer: Diane Macdonald
Location: Sydney