Riding from Victoria to Queensland for a cure

Less than two months later, he underwent incredibly complex awake brain surgery called an awake craniotomy, to remove as much of the tumour as possible.

When the tumour was examined under the microscope, the diagnosis confirmed that Anthony had a brain tumour called an oligodendroglima.

“After surgery, I underwent 12 months of chemotherapy. On the positive side, in the instance of tumour regrowth I have access to treatment options including radiotherapy, more chemotherapy and the possibility of further surgery to safely remove the regrowth,” Anthony said.

“On the other side, unfortunately the life expectancy from the moment of diagnoses for my type of brain tumour is just 10 years.”

After receiving the devastating news, Anthony decided to do as much as he can to help future generations.

“As statistics go, I was one of the 1,879 Australians who received the devastating diagnosis of brain cancer last year. I’ve learnt that brain cancer kills more people under 40 than any other cancer and the outlook for this disease has not improved over the last decade,” he said.

“Since receiving the news I've been training hard with big km's and long days supported of my wife, Arlene. I am undergoing approximately a 4000km bike ride from The Alfred up north to Cape Tribulation - on my River to Reef Ride for Brain Cancer, which will begin on May 15.

“My mission is to raise as much money as possible and the hope is that the money raised will help fund invaluable research toward discovering better treatment outcomes for people affected by this disease.”

Anthony’s fundraising ride will support The Alfred Brain Tumour Bio-databank (ABTB).

The ABTB is a stored collection of samples and accompanying data from consenting patients diagnosed with brain cancer. These samples and data are used for research purposes with the hopes a major breakthrough is on the horizon.