Our Patron


The Hon. Martin Dixon MP, Minister for Education

It is my great pleasure to support the Isabella and Marcus Fund and I am honoured to be named as patron. As Minister for Education, and more importantly as a father and grandfather, I consider the health and wellbeing of Victoria’s young people a top priority. The brainstem tumour known as Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG) is most common among primary-school aged children and sadly remains one of the most severe and incurable cancers. That is why the fund’s vision to work towards a cure has my full support. I commend the fund for its extraordinary efforts to support much needed research into DIPG and to raise the profile of the disease in Victoria’s primary schools, and beyond.  The death of a child is an unimaginable tragedy for any family. Combating this disease will require sustained work across a number of fronts, and it will require us to work together. I commend the families of Isabella and Marcus for leading the way. The memory of these children is honoured through the work of the fund and through the contributions we make to this highly important cause.

Martin Dixon's signature

 

Dr Charlie Teo

It gives me great pleasure to offer my support and congratulations to the IAMPBTF. Brainstem tumours in children account for a significant percentage of all primary tumours found in the brain. Given that many of these are diffuse and truly inoperable, they are responsible for a much higher percentage of deaths from brain tumours than any other type. Even some of the focal brainstem gliomas, despite radical surgery, result in early death following diagnosis. Research into this deadly disease is sparse and poorly funded. I endorse any charity that has identified brain cancer research as desperately needing funds. Specifically, diffuse pontine gliomas, are often neglected by scientists even when they are studying brain cancer. There are several reasons for this but the 2 important ones are the often nihilistic or pessimistic attitude associated with such a terrible disease and secondly, we as neurosurgeons don’t usually provide our researchers with tissue with which to study the genetic codes, molecular make-up etc. The diagnosis is made on the MRI characteristics of the tumour.

The families of Isabella and Marcus need to be congratulated on their efforts and I support them 100%.

Charlie Teo AM
Conjoint Assoc. Professor UNSW
Director; Centre for Minimally Invasive Neurosurgery
Founder of Cure for Life Foundation

 

Letters of Support

University of Melbourne, Australia

Australia's leading Clinical, Pre-clinical and Health University and ranked 18th worldwide by the 2010 Times Higher Education World University Rankings. The goal of the Fund is to establish an Endowed Chair to support a Professorial Fellow who will lead brainstem tumour research in Australia. An endowment will fund the position in perpetuity until there is a cure. In pursuit of this goal an in-principle agreement has been established with the University of Melbourne, backed by the Royal Children’s Hospital.

VCCC

The Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre (VCCC) is a state of the art cancer treatment and research centre currently in development in Melbourne, Australia and scheduled for completion in 2015. CCC’s are centres of excellence that foster synergy by bringing together the finest researchers and clinicians within world class facilities and the best environment to research poorly understood cancers such as DIPG.

The VCCC will form an alliance between the Peter MacCallam Cancer Centre, Melbourne Health, the Royal Children’s, Women’s and St Vincent’s hospitals, the University of Melbourne and the Walter and Elisa Hall Institute. This 1 billion dollar centre is jointly funded by commonwealth and state governments.

 

Dr Kate Drummond & Professor Andrew Kaye

Dr Kate Drummond is a neurosurgeon at The Royal Melbourne Hospital and Senior Lecturer at the University of Melbourne. She is the Head of the Central Nervous System tumour stream of the Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre. To view her biography, click here.

Professor Andrew Kaye is a renowned neurosurgeon and educator. He is the Director of Neurosurgery, Royal Melbourne Hospital and Professor of Neurosurgery at the University of Melbourne. Click here for more...

 

Major Sponsor

Fuji Xerox Australia has selected the Isabella and Marcus Fund as their 'Charity of Choice' for 2012. We thank FXA sincerely and look forward to a long and rewarding relationship

Individuals and companies

We wish to thank the following individuals and companies for graciously providing their skills and services in support of the fund:

Thank you for taking the time to visit the website and sharing the vision of what the Isabella and Marcus Fund is out to achieve. This is the beginning of many positive years of raising much needed awareness into the plight of children diagnosed with brainstem tumours and we thank you sincerely.