Mummy's Wish

Dry July 2023 funds are helping Mummy’s Wish continue to provide tailored, practical support to the 5,000 mums who are diagnosed with cancer in Australia each year through their Mummy’s Wish Support Coordinators.

This support gives the gift of time to mums with cancer so they can focus on what’s most important, being a mum

Mummy’s Wish helps manage the distressing burden of cancer on mums and their families by providing practical, tailored support during the entire treatment journey. This support gives the gift of time to mums with cancer so they can focus on what’s most important, being a mum.

Funds raised Mummy’s Wish Dry July supporters will be used to fund Mums Support Coordinators, Connecting & Counselling for Mum’s affected by cancer.

These support coordinators will provide personal support and case management by qualified Mummy's Wish health professionals who not only support but act as an information hub for mums affected by cancer. This ongoing support will include referrals to other support agencies, connection to support groups, Mummy's Wish online community and counselling services for Mums affected by cancer.

National charity, Mummy’s Wish is calling for sign-ups to their Dry July campaign to raise funds for mums with cancer.

Because a mum with cancer is still a mum.

5,000 Australian mums are diagnosed with cancer each year. Mummy’s Wish currently supports 1,000 of them. Their goal is to deliver the service to every single mum who receives a cancer diagnosis while caring for young children by 2025.

The charity provides practical and immediate support to mums with children under 13. Services include one-on-one calls with support coordinators; help with house-cleaning, gardening or meal deliveries; resources to help mums talk to their kids about their illness and treatment; referrals to support agencies; and photography sessions for mums given a poor prognosis.

Mummy’s Wish recipient and Sydney mother of three, Yvette Martin, was diagnosed with breast cancer in May last year but wasted no time signing up for the 2020 campaign, raising more than $7,000. She has undergone treatment for her cancer and is keen to give back by raising funds again this year. Yvette said the charity gives big to mums when they need it most.

“There I was living life, having fun with friends, enjoying a new home close to the beach, loving what I did every day and the impact I made in the world. Then, cancer,” the coaching consultant said.

“Cancer is such a big thing but Mummy’s Wish is there to help with the daily lived experience. I’ve felt held by them so much. Giving up alcohol for July is one way people can be empowered to help change the lives of others and show they care,” Yvette added.

Thanks to the incredible fundraising efforts of Dry July 2020 participants, Mummy's Wish are planning to introduce Cancer Care Co-Ordinators and Care Packs to help Mums living with cancer. 

- Cancer Care Co-Ordinators

Around 130,000 new cases of cancer will be diagnosed in Australia this year and of these cases over 5000 will be mums with young children aged 12 years and under. That means every day 13 families in Australia will have their lives turned upside down when mum is diagnosed with cancer. A cancer diagnosis can have a significant impact on many lives and communities.

- Care Packs for 1000 Mums with cancer

Packs provide comfort and support to Mums and their families and are posted to all the mums Mummy's Wish supports and include the following:

• A voice-recordable Comfort Bear for each child 12 years and under

• Therapeutic books for each child

• "Dealing with cancer - a guide for mums" resource and information booklet

• A travel compendium and notepad (to document and store medical resources and information)

• A Mummy's Wish tote bag

The books resourced have been researched by the Support Coordinators as age-specific and appropriate to children who have a mum with cancer. There are several titles that Mummy's Wish access which include: "When someone has a very serious illness", " Hey Warrior", "The Invisible String", "Beginnings and Endings and Lifetimes in between" and "You, me and the Rainbow".

Going through cancer treatment is scary, and extremely stressful, so to have an organisation like Mummy's Wish think of me and my children, and want to help us, touched my heart more than words can say.

I received a Mummy's wish care package full of lovely items that made me smile and feel special. The most cherished item was a beautiful teddy bear that I was able to record a message with my voice for my daughter to help her when she misses me through the long hospital stays, the teddy has been really helpful.

Mummy's Wish even kindly gave us food vouchers to help ease the stress on those weeks when everyone is only just barely keeping it together and has no energy to think about preparing meals. These were a godsend because they fed us when I barely had the energy to eat, let alone make dinner for the family.

So when we were all too exhausted, it was so great being able to order some nutritional, great tasting, easy to prepare meals and that we didn't have to worry about what the financial implications would be, which was such a relief because we already were struggling a lot financially since I stopped working.

There aren't enough words for how grateful I am to Mummy’s Wish.