A life saved by science

When their baby boy beat the odds thanks to a clinical trial of a new treatment, a medical mum and dad realised the true value of funded research.

Late last year, Orlando Morse celebrated his five-year post-treatment anniversary. When he was diagnosed with stage four, high-risk neuroblastoma at eight months of age, Orlando’s five-year survival rate was just 20 to 30 per cent. Now seven years old, he’s fighting fit and cancer free.

It’s all thanks to cutting-edge kids’ cancer science - the type of research programs Orlando’s parents, Levi and Tina, have been actively supporting by organising fundraising events and making significant personal donations.

Levi, an orthopaedic surgeon, says that although his entire career has been shaped around medical science, research took on an entirely new meaning when things became so personal.

“I still remember reading journal articles about neuroblastoma after Orlando was diagnosed,” he says. “That was possibly the worst thing to do – the survival rates were horrendous.”

“A lot of the immunotherapy and gene-directed therapy, etc., is going to be the way of the future. That’s what The Kids’ Cancer Project does well, and that’s why we support them.”

 

“We wanted to give to an organisation that is dedicated to improving outcomes. Plus, we were impressed with the lack of overheads and the way in which The Kids’ Cancer Project is very frugal with their spending, in terms of every possible dollar going to supporting research.”

Funding: The difference between life and death

Imagine being a parent, Tina says, and being told there is simply no treatment for your child’s cancer. Or, if your child relapses, there is simply nothing left to try.

Science continues to offer new treatments, greater hope and constantly improved outcomes, both in terms of survival and quality of life. But that science needs funding.

Tina and Levi have dedicated much of their time, and their finances, to ensuring such projects are funded.

Past fundraising events have included a dinner ($38,000 raised) and bus tours, school discos, major personal donations and promotions via Levi’s surgery.