A lifeline for families facing cancer

For over 40 years, Redkite has been helping families when their life is shattered by their child’s cancer diagnosis.

Every day in Australia, three families will hear the words: “your child has cancer”, and what they hear is “your child might die”. The life of that child, and of their entire family, will never be the same.

In the daunting, long and traumatic experience that follows diagnosis, a child needs as much stability and support from their family as possible.

But at Redkite we see every day, when a child’s life is in question, it can feel impossible for families to keep functioning and to hold it together not only for their sick child but for one another.

The money raised through Hairless Heroes Challenge will ensure that Redkite can continue to give back to families some of what a cancer diagnosis can rob from them – a child’s potential, healthy meaningful connections with family and friends, mental resilience, and financial stability.

“It was amazing, amazing having that support.”

Katie got a phone call on the school run that all parents dread; ‘I’m worried by Josh’s blood test results. Please take him straight to emergency’. Katie recalls “before, if anyone had said the word leukaemia I’d think, that's not what will happen to us. It's not my story. But then it does”.

Josh has two brothers and was five when he started suffering from a fever. And the impact of his diagnosis and lengthy chemo treatment on every aspect of his family’s life, from its finances to Katie and husband Scott’s marriage, was huge.

“Redkite was absolutely incredible” says Katie. “It’s hard to ask for financial help. You get yourself in a real state. And it was amazing, amazing having that support.”