"Thirty years ago, there were very few treatment options for children with cancer, and we would
probably have lost our precious daughter had she been diagnosed back then.

Mia is living proof that putting money into cancer research saves lives.".
Maria, mother of five-year-old Mia, who was diagnosed with leukaemia at 18 months of age.

Help us give more children like Mia the chance to live long and healthy lives. Please make a gift today to help ensure we can fund more life-saving cancer research in 2012.

Little Mia underwent gruelling treatment for leukaemia at just 18 months of age. She's now in remission, but the risk of relapse is always in the back of her parents' minds.

Three years ago Mia was bravely fighting a battle against leukaemia after her diagnosis at just 18 months of age. She had already spent six months undergoing gruelling chemotherapy treatments.

Until her diagnosis, Mia was a happy and seemingly healthy child who was just starting to learn to walk, and to ride her first bike. Then, one Saturday, she was enjoying a fun day in the park when, in the words of her mum Maria:

"Mia fell off her bike. It was an innocuous accident that we didn't think much about at the time.

Then one week later she just stopped walking. Tim said, 'I'll call the hospital and see if we can get her an X-ray.' Literally within half an hour of having a hip x-ray and blood test, we were told that she had leukaemia and needed chemotherapy. And that's when our lives changed forever."

Maria's first thought was that she would lose her precious daughter forever.

"Leukaemia. Cancer. Well, all kids with cancer die, don't they?"

Not long ago, that was certainly the case. If Mia had been diagnosed even a few decades ago, her chances of survival would have been significantly less. Today - thanks to the breakthroughs made by cancer research - survival rates for childhood leukaemia now stand at 80%.

That's why your donation is so important. By funding more ground breaking research projects, you can help us keep working towards the next life-saving breakthrough in the fight against cancer.

Mia has now been in remission for more than a year, and has grown into a happy, healthy, and very sporty five-year-old girl. However, she still has to have a full medical check-up every four weeks to make sure her cancer hasn't come back.

Cancer is still one of Australia's leading causes of death, and we urgently need to fund more research to find the answers to this terrible disease.

Two out of every 10 children diagnosed with leukaemia still lose their fight for life – and many children with cancer face months, or even years, of painful and debilitating treatment.

The extraordinary support of people like you has helped us fund more research over the last year than ever before. But more Australians still die of cancer than almost any other cause; we need your help today to fund even more life-saving research in 2012.

Please donate today