'76 YEAR OLD JUMPS FOR CANCER'
1 in 3 Australian men and 1 in 4 Australian women will be directly affected by cancer before the age of 75. Cancer does not discriminate. It can, and does, affect people of all ages. Cancer survivor Robert Kendall has always had sky diving on his 'to do' list and is finally going to for his 76th birthday on the 15th of March! In 1995 he was almost denied the opportunity when his near death experience with Bowel Cancer gave him what he calls 'a wake up call'. Mr Kendall, originally from NSW began his career in 1977 working for Westfield in Sydney in the Architectural division from which he resigned in 1987 to start his own practice. Three years into his practice he was invited to join the Lang Hancock organisation as their NSW Architectural representative and was prospering in the times of what Paul Keating announced to be (Quote) "the recession we had to have". The business was flourishing up until the news came in March 1992 that Mr Hancock had suddenly passed away. It was on that day that everything came crashing down. Mr Kendall's nine employees had to be released from employment and Mr Kendall lost everything he had worked hard to achieve including his business, home and livelihood. At aged 57, Mr Kendall had to rely solely on his parallel career as a jockey to make ends meet. In June 1995 he followed his jockey’s career to Ballina with his soon to be wife Vicki. Upon obtaining a mandatory medical for his jockey’s license it was found he had an advanced stage of bowel cancer. He was immediately admitted to hospital where testing found he had just 1ltr of blood in his body. 26hrs of blood transfusions commenced and were followed up by an operation. Mr Kendall will never forget the moment he was wheeled into the operating theatre on the cold steel trolley. The surgeon placed his hand on his shoulder and said "Mr Kendall, we have about a 15% chance of getting you out of this". In which Mr Kendall replied "Don't worry, I'll be back, I've got too much to do". He awoke from the operation soon to be told some more bad news that his father had passed away. There were four patients in ward C at Lismore Hospital and day by day the other 3 out of 4 became the 85%. Mr Kendall was still determined to be in the 15%. Just 38 days after the operation he rode his fiancée Vicki's horse 'Neiwtun' to victory, coming 1st in the Lismore race meet. Nine months later Rob and Vicki became Mr & Mrs Kendall and went on to have two beautiful children, Carlie now 16yr's of age and Alex, 12. With four children to his previous marriage he has 6 children, 8 grandchildren, and 2 great grandchildren. Now on the Gold Coast, Mr Kendall lives a quiet, simple life yet likes to get out, have fun and remains physically active. You will find him at the Gold Coast Turf Club from 4am-7am 5days a week riding back to back horses for trainer Helen Page. He has a passion for life and to 'live it to its fullest'. After surviving cancer himself and recently losing a close friend to brain cancer just last year Robert is DETERMINED to help find a cure for cancer, "for the future of our children and grandchildren" and is asking the community to support him in his commitment by pledging a donation. After much research, The Australian Cancer Research Foundation (ACRF) was chosen as the number one preferred cancer research charity due to the nature of this organisation and the incredible world class research they do into the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer. The ACRF fund important cancer research Australia wide for ALL cancers. Mr Kendall is overcoming his fears of heights and asking for as many people as possible to sponsor him on his birthday sky dive by donating to the ACRF. If you are in the area, come watch Rob sky dive on the Kirra beach on the Gold Coast at approx 11am Sat 15th march or come and meet the hero and join in the 'public' birthday celebrations after the jump at the nearby surf club from 12pm onwards. There will be raffles, auctions and a big birthday cake to share!
Aust Cancer Research Foundationfff
Australian Cancer Research Foundation (ACRF) believe that a world without cancer is possible. It is a bold statement but one that we are committed to.
We can’t do this without you. Every day our supporters help to accelerate what can be achieved by giving Australia’s best scientists the technology they need to end all cancers through better detection, prevention and treatment.
We are passionate about innovation and impact and believe accelerating cancer research is vital. Thanks to our generous and committed supporters we award grants between $1-10M each year for major equipment and technology. We are the only charity in Australia that does this, many fund the person (the researcher) but no-one else provides the cutting-edge equipment they need.
Together we can end all cancers, and we won’t stop until we do.