The Ladybird Fund – Ginny Brooke’s Story

The Ladybird Fund was created by the Brooke family in honour of ‘Ginny’, Virginia Margaret Brooke, who passed away from advanced breast cancer in 2015, nine years after her first diagnosis in 2006.

Shortly after her death, Ginny’s family found a personal request she had written in December 2014 about her wish to set up a program called the Avistan Project.

Avistan is a drug prescribed for advanced bowel cancer and advanced breast cancer.

As Ginny said,

“It does great things but unfortunately, it’s not covered by the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS).”

“It is one thing to go through chemotherapy, but the horror is made far worse when you find out from your oncologist there’s a drug that can help you but it’s not covered by health insurance – if you’re lucky enough to have that in the first place. And, the drug costs $1,500 a week.”

For most patients this is heartbreakingly unaffordable.

And so the Ladybird Fund was established.

A donation to the Ladybird Fund will help fulfill Ginny’s wish to support women subjected to financial hardship due to their treatment not being available on the PBS.

The funds will be distributed to the most appropriate ‘ladybirds’ by Ginny’s oncologist, Professor Arlene Chan through BCRC-WA. The Brooke family is working directly with BCRC in this regard.

The Ladybird Fund’s target was $15,000 by the third anniversary of Ginny’s death which fell on 9 October 2018. If the target was met, Ginny’s son Oliver, who had grown his hair without cutting it since his mother’s death, would cut his hair on the anniversary. Oliver, with his family and friends, raised $26,570. The funds will be allocated to selected patients who will benefit greatly from financial assistance.

What a wonderful legacy Ginny has left behind to help others. All of us at BCRC-WA thank Ginny and her family sincerely.

Want to read more stories like Ginny’s? Read BCRC-WA’s Stories of Hope.