The ACT's Senior Australian of the Year 2016: The finalists

October 15 2015 - 4:26pm
Yvonne Cuschieri OAM
Yvonne Cuschieri OAM

Yvonne Cuschieri OAM, 73 - Cancer support pioneer (Queanbeyan)

The ‘founding mother’ of the Cancer Support Group, Yvonne Cuschieri has provided financial support and friendship to more than 30,000 cancer sufferers and their families over the past three decades. Yvonne’s vocation began in 1985, when she raised funds to send 13 teenagers with cancer to a CanTeen camp. It wasn’t long before social workers were knocking on her door on behalf of other families needing help and Yvonne began hosting support group meetings in her dining room. From humble beginnings, the Cancer Support Group now assists around 700 patients at any one time with money for treatment and ongoing living expenses. Yvonne is known for always putting others first, but her desire to help others affected by cancer comes from a deeply personal space. After fighting her own battle with lung cancer, she lost her son to a brain tumour in 2013. This personal pain has made Yvonne even more determined to support others when cancer turns their lives upside down.

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