Former Australian fast bowling great Glenn McGrath, who lost his wife to cancer in June this year, is urging Sydney residents to participate in a fun run across the Sydney Harbour Bridge this month to raise funds for breast cancer research.
McGrath and his wife Jane co-founded the McGrath Foundation in 2002 after Jane’s initial recovery from breast cancer, when she experienced first hand the shortage of breast care nurses in Australia during her treatment.
Emphasising that early detection of breast cancer was the key to beating the disease, McGrath told Channel Nine Television: “We did it last year, Jane, the kids and I. It’s the only time when they close the bridge down and everyone can run across it or walk across it as we do.
“The kids were pretty happy and pretty excited about walking across the bridge last year, so we are doing it with grandma this year. It is to help women and their families, everyone through every step of the journey.”
Jane was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 1996. She fought a secondary cancer in her hip and in 2006 was diagnosed with a brain tumour. She had surgery and was recovering before complications set in.
McGrath said he and their two children, James, 8 and Holly, 6, were “taking one day at a time” since Jane’s death at the age of 42.
In January this year, the McGraths were awarded the Member of the Order of Australia for their commitment to fighting and raising public awareness of breast cancer.
More than 12,000 Australians are diagnosed with breast cancer each year, making it the most common type of cancer and the leading cause of cancer death in Australian women. However, increase in early diagnosis in recent years has improved survival rates.
The McGrath Foundation has raised millions of dollars for the fight against breast cancer.
