A Melbourne-based researcher is hoping to improve the future for children with leukaemia, as Cancer Council Victoria calls on supporters to help fund life-changing research.
Doctor Sarah Grimshaw from Murdoch Children’s Research Institute has been awarded a three-year $450,000 grant that expands on her extensive work using physical therapy to improve frailty outcomes for children with leukaemia.
Sarcopenia – the involuntary loss of skeletal muscle mass and strength – is a serious side effect of childhood leukaemia treatment and can often worsen with long-term hospitalisation and inactivity.
“We’re always trying to find ways we can help children return to their life after their cancer treatment has finished,” Dr Grimshaw said.
“Through my clinical experience, we’re understanding it’s really important to help children from the very beginning of their diagnosis, rather than when they’ve finished their treatment.”
The five-year survival rate for leukaemia in children under 15 has improved by 45 per cent over the past 35 years – however, blood cancer is still the most common type of cancer in Victorians under 25, according to data from the Victorian Cancer Registry.
Cancer Council Victoria and the Victorian government, through the Department of Health, are working together to advance cancer research by investing $2.7 million into six early career projects that will improve cancer outcomes and save lives.
Cancer Council Victoria’s Postdoctoral Research Fellowships support early-career researchers who have not yet received significant research funding to investigate the causes, prevention, detection, and supportive care or treatment of cancer.
