Fiona Elsey Cancer Research Institute ball raises $220,000 to honour teen’s legacy by searching for cure
When Fiona Elsey’s mum was going through old mementos she’d kept since her daughter’s death, she came across a letter written in the back of a colouring book.
“She would’ve had to have written this in the early hours of the morning when she was feeling most sad and lonely,” Gail Elsey said.
“When I read it I cried — I still get emotional about it.
“I just wanted my little girl to have her life back.”
Fiona died from cancer in 1991, at just 14 years of age.
In her letter, she expressed optimism that some day she would be cancer-free and could continue her life as a regular teenager.
“I am in hospital at the moment having cemo (sic) to help my tuma (sic) go away so as I can go back to playing squash and racketball (sic) and go back to school so I don’t fail year seven and then when I get better we can go to Queensland and America so as we can go to Disneyland,” Fiona wrote.
“When I get the all clear and get my central line taken out I can get my Maltese terrier and … I’m going to spoil her rotten.”
Her family and loved ones have since endeavoured to honour her legacy by setting up a cancer research institute in her name.
“I made a promise to her on her deathbed that I would never give up fighting for cancer research and what she wanted to happen,” Ms Elsey said.
“I feel my role in this life now is to be her voice.”
A chance encounter
A few years after Fiona’s passing, Ms Elsey bumped into Fiona’s doctor George Kannourakis.
“We just happened to be coming out of Her Majesty’s Theatre at the same time, and Gail turned around and said, you remember the promise you made my daughter?” Professor Kannourakis said.
Professor Kannourakis remembered — he had promised Fiona he would some day find a cure for the cancer that took the 14-year-old’s life.
That conversation was the catalyst for setting up the Fiona Elsey Cancer Research Institute (FECRI).
“There was no cancer research or biological research laboratories in the Ballarat university in those days,” he said.
Professor Kannourakis met with the nuns of St John of God Hospital, who gave him a disused paint shed in the old boiler house to use as a laboratory.
“We opened the first little laboratory in the disused paint shed in February 1998,” he said.
The FECRI continues to be the only regional cancer research institute in all of Australia, and its work is internationally recognised.
‘A celebration of her dream’
The FECRI held its bi-annual Dream Ball over the weekend to raise funds to further its research towards finding a cure for cancer.
Ms Elsey called the event “a celebration of her dream”.
At this year’s ball, a video was unveiled to guests that featured a reading of Fiona’s words from the back of her colouring book.
“To hear those words again at the ball was very emotional, it was bittersweet,” Ms Elsey said.
Sarah Stapleton from the FECRI said the reaction to the video on the night was “very powerful”.
“It is great to share the story with the guests, to hear a bit of where we came from and where we are going,” she said.
This year’s Dream Ball raised over $220,000 in funds, which Professor Kannourakis said was enough to employ two or three scientists per year.
Realising a dream
Before Fiona died, she took part in several medical trials to help doctors discover how her disease could be treated.
Though they were unsuccessful in saving her life, they were able to help her regain her lost ability to walk.
These trials were what sparked Fiona’s passion for cancer research.
“We are in the process of realising that dream for Fiona, and the main thing that we need is ongoing funding,” Professor Kannourakis said.
The FECRI is a community-funded organisation and relies on major events like the Dream Ball, and a cycle classic held in February each year, as well as generous donations from local businesses and community members.
“We’ve had to start up from scratch, so we didn’t have any government support, and still don’t,” Professor Kannourakis said.
The FECRI has made significant breakthroughs in cancer immunology research, and its work spans areas including but not limited to breast cancer, leukaemia and brain cancer.
Ms Elsey is now on another cancer journey with her husband, as he battles his own diagnosis.
But this time, they have “more research on [their] side”.
While the institute’s work has featured in many science publications and been internationally recognised, its biggest ambassadors are still counting on the generosity of the human spirit to fund its research.
“[Fiona] wanted to be a voice and send the message that if everybody got behind research, then treatments could improve and people’s lives could be saved,” Ms Elsey said.
“We are here on this earth to give and to love.
“I am Fiona’s voice to continue her passion and her vision.”
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