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Fundraising For

Funds raised this Dry July will ensure Cancer Council's vital services like their 13 11 20 Information and Support line continues to be available

About Us

13 11 20 is a free and confidential phone line run by Cancer Council’s experienced health professionals, offering support and information about cancer.

Those seeking cancer information can speak to a health professional about anything to do with cancer including: support if you or someone you care about has cancer, how to reduce your risk, questions about early detection, dealing with a cancer diagnosis, how to cope with treatment and its side effects, information about services, resources or support groups, and ask questions about end of life.

Our 13 11 20 line supported over 37,000 people affected by cancer last year. Please help us in continuing to provide this much-needed service for the Australian community by fundraising for us this Dry July.

Latest Updates


Kristina's story: Moving to Australia then facing a confronting diagnosis

Five years ago, Kristina's life took an exciting turn when she decided to move to Australia from Germany.

She was ready to escape the cold, in search for her next adventure. Within five days of arriving, she fell in love with Australia.

Little did she know however, her life would take a dramatic turn with a surprising and confronting diagnosis.

Kristina was diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer at only 28 years old.

Facing a shocking diagnosis

In December last year, Kristina's partner at the time noticed a small lump on her breast. She thought it was "probably a small cyst" but decided to get it checked anyway.

Her GP was “99% sure” it was a cyst, but Kristina was sent for an ultrasound just in case. The doctors then said she needed a biopsy.

That's when Kristina started to worry, saying “I got a weird feeling something wasn’t right.”

Two days later, she went for another biopsy and began to cry. Kristina says, “I wasn’t in pain, but I already knew what it was.” She didn't tell her family in Germany because they were already worried about her being so far away.

When she got a call from her doctor’s office asking her to come in that day, Kristina remembers, “I knew inside what it was, but was still kind of in denial.”

Kristina heard the words, “I’m really sorry.” And while she doesn’t remember much after that, Kristina knows it involved surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

Taking on the challenges of cancer treatment

Kristina was diagnosed close to Christmas, which meant many doctors were on leave.

The surgeon her doctor found told her they needed to make sure the cancer hadn’t spread to her bones or blood. Kristina felt scared and wondered, “will I survive this?”

The surgeon scheduled body scans and surgery.

Another huge shock was fertility preservation, having learned that the treatments might make her infertile, causing early menopause, and making her lose her hair. Kristina says, “I had always dreamt about being a mother. I am a girly girl; I love having long hair and everything. I wondered who I'd be after my treatment?”

Kristina’s surgery happened quickly, and she didn’t have much time to process everything.

She says, “once I got the diagnosis, I could feel the cancer in my body, and I almost wanted to cut it out myself.”

After surgery on Christmas Eve, she felt relieved when the surgeon told her the tumour wasn’t large and her chances of survival were high. But Kristina was still worried because the cancer had spread to two lymph nodes, which is rare for someone of her age and background.

Kristina faced depression and stayed in bed for a couple of weeks.

She says, “I just felt myself lying in bed, not eating, crying, staring at the wall – I didn’t want to do anything.”

Before surgery, Kristina did some online research and came across Cancer Council’s 13 11 20 number and the support available.

“I called them after the surgery and already on the first call they were amazing", she says.

“We were on the phone for an hour, and they also talked to me about the treatments, organisations I could talk to, best doctors, financials and costs and helped me find an immigration lawyer as I was worried about renewing my visa and having cancer.” adds Kristina.

What's next for Kristina?

Despite the fear and uncertainty, Kristina is determined to move forward.

She's taking things one step at a time and focusing on her health and well-being. While she's still waiting to learn if she needs chemotherapy, she remains hopeful.

Kristina continues her mindset coaching business and draws strength from helping other women face challenges.

As she puts it, “I want to help other people – inspire them, let them know they can achieve anything they put their mind to.”

She faces her cancer experience head on and finds ways to keep moving forward.

Kristina's story reminds us that even in the face of the toughest challenges, getting the support we need helps us find a way forward.

If you need to talk about cancer, call Cancer Council on 13 11 20


Supporting Over 25,000 Australians Through 13 11 20 in 2024.

Since 2019, funds raised through Dry July have supported Cancer Council’s vital 13 11 20 Information and Support line. When users call the 13 11 20 Information and Support Line, they can talk to a health professional and get the support they need.

It’s free, confidential, and available for anyone affected by cancer who has a question – those diagnosed as well as their family, friends, and carers.

As part of the service, the help provided includes:

• explaining what cancer is and what will happen during treatment

• giving tips for managing common side effects

• discussing treatment options

• Helping people find their way around the health system

• provide counselling support

• Helping carers of someone with cancer and looking after their wellbeing

• providing financial counselling to help people manage the cost of cancer

• match people with volunteers with a similar cancer experience to talk to and much more

In 2024, the 13 11 20 service responded to 39,630 requests for cancer information and support, assisting a total of 25,322 people nationally.

Each year, thousands of users are grateful for this vital service. Some examples of their feedback are included below:

From people with cancer

‘Thank you for absolutely everything you’ve done and organised for me. I am absolutely blown away by your incredible support and professionalism, and I am so, so grateful. I am looking forward to the counselling appointment. Cancer Council are very lucky to have you, as are the countless patients you no doubt speak to regularly.’

‘Thank you so much for the chat and the detailed information you have sent us. I only ever hear good things about Cancer Council Victoria and after experiencing this firsthand with yourself I can see why. Thank you.’

‘I'm just writing to thank you for the extraordinary cancer support service you provide, and that has helped me enormously. After a recent head/neck cancer diagnosis and much related stress and sleepless nights, I reached out to the support service. Ordinarily this is something it would never occur to me to do. I had many questions and concerns. After a (at times emotional) conversation with 13 11 20, when the call ended, all my distress and concerns had evaporated. It was the most extraordinary thing, and something I had never experienced before. It was nothing specific that they said, but it was everything they said, unpatronising and enlightening. It was also partly the fact that someone was there. However I could never have imagined such an immediate and satisfying result. I have had further conversations with 13 11 20 and the support from your service has continued to be invaluable to me.’

‘The assistance I received has made a significant impact on my life. When I spoke with Cancer Council, they connected me to the advice I needed. They helped me prepare all the official documents I needed and helped me navigate the medical bills to reach out to my bank to talk about my mortgage’.

From carers, family and friends

‘Thank you so much ...... for your call this morning, your tenderness, care and concern has brought much needed calmness to me. I haven't thought much about my self-care as my main concern has been for my parents coming to terms with transitioning into aged care, their loss of their home and the diagnosis and everything else associated with that. So I am very grateful to you and Cancer Council Victoria for the services you provide and the exceptional care I have received from you ....... Thank you so much.’

‘My good friend who has stage 4 breast cancer rang 13 11 20 a few times. She had such a great experience talking to a few 13 11 20 nurses and found the experience valuable and comforting. She mentioned how much better she felt after speaking with the nurses.’

‘Thank you for your time yesterday over the phone and for your time in collating all this information. I wanted to let you know how vital it was for us to have someone over the phone who was considerate, composed and caring. It really made all the difference. This information is abundant, and we will sort through it carefully. We are so very lucky to have your organisation here for us. Incredibly grateful xx’

From healthcare professionals

‘Thank you so much for your quick response and follow up with our patient. Really appreciated we love your work!’


Dry July 2024 funds Cancer Council’s vital 13 11 20 telephone support service

Thank you for taking on the Dry July challenge and supporting Cancer Council this year.

Your Dry July fundraising this year is helping Cancer Council continue to support people affected by cancer across Australia through their 13 11 20 Information and Support Service.

“As a healthcare professional working on 13 11 20, I know how important the information and support we provide to our callers are. Generous funding from Dry July enables our service to continue its vital work.” – Jan Priaulx 13 11 20 Healthcare Professional

13 11 20 is there for all Australians, with a dedicated team of healthcare professionals answering calls from hundreds of Australians every single day.

“Thank you for the information and links. I’m so grateful for all the support you and everyone has provided these past few months.” – Anonymous 13 11 20 caller

On behalf of Cancer Council and all the people that will access 13 11 20 this year and beyond, thank you for helping us be there to take the call and ensure no one has to face cancer alone.

On behalf of all the patients and staff at Cancer Council, we would like to thank you for your support and contribution to making a positive difference in the lives of people living with cancer.


How Danica found support through the phone after being wrongly diagnosed just before Christmas

Mother of two, Danica Bunch, was told that she may only have two years to live only a couple of days before Christmas in 2022, “When the nurse came to see me and broke down in tears, I asked her why she was crying, and she said she was overwhelmed with feeling for me as the diagnosis was so bad,” she says. Danica was wrongly diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer.

It wasn’t until early the following year that Danica was told that the nurse had mixed up her results with another patient’s and, while she still had breast cancer, her diagnosis was treatable.

Danica said that the timing of being (unknowingly) misdiagnosed was particularly challenging, “Any news at Christmas time is so hard, but over Christmas you also have services shutting down for the break.”

“That’s when I first called 13 11 20 and they were amazing!”

Over this time, Danica was waiting for a call from her hospital's social worker while at her son's tennis camp. The call never came as the team had forgotten to book her in. In her search for support in this tough time, Danica turned to Cancer Council’s 13 11 20 Information and Support line.

“That’s when I first called 13 11 20 and they were amazing! They really helped me with the practicalities and helped me reframe what was happening to get through Christmas. They just got it.”

Danica says she really appreciated that this phone number was the gateway to other services that Cancer Council offers for people affected by cancer and saysit was real support on every level, practically, emotionally and accessible.

Someone to talk to without judgement

Over Christmas and New Years, Danica called 13 11 20 three times. Her family were also hurting, and she didn’t want to burden them, so Danica found it helpful to be able to share her thoughts with someone without judgement.

The health professionals on the other side of the line also helped Danica work out the best way to talk about her cancer with her family. “I felt very heard and listened to,” she says

”The more we can support people to live in the now and with hope and not just the weight of cancer the better. Treatments are going so well and advancing, and people can live with cancer.”

How Danica learnt to understand her body

Danica says that she felt the weight of cliches and stigma around it, having breast cancer as a relatively young woman aged 42.

When she received a breast care pack from her hospital, Danica found that it didn’t suit her needs. By comparison, she says that “I found that Cancer Council was so modern in their approach and views, I found it really inclusive of everyone and all ages,” she says.

Danica says that every person's cancer is different, once she knew her cancer was treatable, she realised you need an understanding of how your body is going to take on everything. They were some of the messages she received; trust your body, learn your body and how it’s feeling, and be kind to yourself.


Dry July 2023 funds are supporting Cancer Council’s 13 11 20 private and confidential Information and Support line

We’re excited to announce that Dry July funds are supporting the continuation of Cancer Council's 13 11 20 private and confidential Information and Support line.

Experienced healthcare professionals run the vital 13 11 20 Information and Support line and it is available to anyone who is affected by or concerned about cancer. The Information and Support line works to connect Australians with relevant cancer support, information, and resources.

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