Reducing cancer risk.

How you’ve made a difference in 2020/21

As we navigate a global pandemic together, public health  and maintaining overall health and wellbeing has never been more important. Here’s how you’ve helped our community stay healthy over the year.

Healthy Lunch Box visitors

181,003 people were inspired to create healthy recipes for the whole family by visiting the Healthy Lunch Box website.

84%

84% of primary schools participated in our SunSmart Program, helping protect students from over-exposure to UV radiation.

200

200 golf clubs participated in Improve your long game in 2020/21, protecting golfers from harmful UV radiation exposure. This is an increase of 8% from the previous year.

39%

The number of community service organisations taking part in Tackling Tobacco rose by 39%, helping more people in the community to quit smoking.

Cancer Council’s regional survey

In 2020, the NSW Parliament announced a formal inquiry, investigating the inequalities in health outcomes between people in regional and metropolitan NSW, including a specific focus on cancer and access to cancer care. This created an opportunity for Cancer Council to give a voice to people impacted by cancer across NSW.

Read the survey results

Matt’s mission to raise awareness of melanoma in his community

In December 2016, Principal Matt Kean’s life changed forever.

Matt Kean describes himself as “first and foremost a husband and a father of two daughters.” He is also the Principal at Holy Spirit School in Lavington, Albury. In December 2016, life changed for Matt and his family when he was diagnosed with melanoma.

In late October 2016, Matt discovered a lump on his right thigh: “I’d been out in the garden all day with a friend and I looked down and saw a lump. At the time I thought I’d been bitten – being a man I looked at it and thought ‘I’ll be right’.

Read Matt’s story

What’s next: Protecting children and young people from e-cigarettes

E-cigarette use is rising in Australia – in particular, among young adults and adolescents. In the second half of the year, January – June 2021, 54,556 illegal e-cigarette products were seized from retailers statewide. This is a 114% increase compared to the first half of the year, with 25,444 products seized in July-December 2020. In the year ahead, we’ll be undertaking a research project to examine awareness, perceptions, attitudes, related knowledge and behaviour of e-cigarette use among teachers, parents and young people aged 14-17 in NSW. This research will report on the extent of use, harms and perceptions amongst young people, informing policy makers on interventions to prevent adolescents and young adults taking up nicotine e-cigarettes and, ultimately, reduce the risks and harm caused by them in NSW.

This year, we continued to grow and strengthen our valued partnerships with our corporate partners, trusts and foundations, beneficiary partners and major donors who are committed to our vision of a cancer free future.

Thank you to our partners