Mummy's Wish

When a mum is diagnosed with cancer, it can become even more important for her to have quality time with her family.

That’s where the practical support from Mummy’s Wish comes in, relieving some of the day-to-day burden for mums so they can focus on what’s really important.

Our support includes:

• Comfort bears for children, with a recordable heart for mums to leave a special message, for the times they cannot be together

• Books to start conversations about cancer and help children understand what’s happening

• Tailored, practical support to give mums more time for what matters most.

Mum-of-two, Erin, received two bears for her children, and they often read books from Mummy’s Wish together. She describes them as “beautiful memories my kids will have forever”, despite the uncertainty that comes with her diagnosis.

Mummy’s Wish is available to all mums with any type of cancer, and the need for this program continues to grow.

Dry July fundraising from 2025 helped us continue to provide practical support for mums with cancer. We sent 900 care packs to mums, including 1,850 bears for their children, providing tangible and practical support to help families manage the emotional and daily burdens of cancer.

A cancer diagnosis is devastating for anyone.

When someone is told they have cancer, and they’re also a mum with young children, the impact is even more profound.

For mums in this situation, some of their first thoughts are often about the practicalities – how to tell the kids, who will care for the children whilst they’re having treatment, how they’ll keep up with their usual tasks around the house, and whether they’ll see their children grow up.

This is where Mummy’s Wish comes in.

We believe every mum diagnosed with cancer should feel supported, so they can focus on what’s important – being a mum. That’s why we offer tailored and practical support for mums with young children, anywhere in Australia, during any stage of their cancer experience, and with any type of cancer.

This Dry July, your fundraising efforts will allow us send care packs to mums to help them and their families cope with a cancer diagnosis.

The packs include resources and information for mums, as well as a selection of books carefully chosen to help talk to young children about cancer.

Particularly impactful are the voice-recordable Comfort Bears. These cuddly teddies are provided for each child, and include a recordable heart where mums can record special messages for their children for the times they cannot be together.

Mum Olga describe finding Mummy’s Wish as “such a relief”.

“I had been looking for someone who understood the reality of balancing motherhood and cancer treatment,” she said.

“Mummy’s Wish provided practical, personalised support that helped us.

“They sent teddy bears for my daughters, which helped them sleep better, and a special book for Anna, who kept asking me where my hair had gone. The book helped us answer her questions together.

“Mummy’s Wish eases the burdens that aren’t always visible, but are deeply felt.”

As well as care packs, mums can access practical help that makes the biggest difference to their family, such as house cleaning, gardening, delivery of nutritious meals or vouchers for groceries.

With your support this Dry July, more mums can receive the practical support they need, so they can focus on their health and being with their children.

The incredible efforts of our Dry July supporters have a profound impact on the lives of mums with cancer, who also have young children.

Thanks to you, we can continue providing resources that help families understand and manage a cancer diagnosis.

Since our Dry July campaign, we’ve distributed:

- more than 1,000 comfort bears, with recordable hearts for mums to record a special message for their children

- more than 600 books, to help families have conversations about cancer.

Mums frequently tell us how deeply they appreciate the bears in particular, which can provide immediate comfort to their children, helping them sleep better and cope with the confusing emotions the can be facing.

Each week, we provide about 30 mums with tailored, practical support designed to ease the burden of managing family life while undergoing treatment. This can include support with house cleaning, nutritious family meals, fuel vouchers and more, alleviating everyday stresses.

Thank you for helping us provide practical support so mums can focus on what’s really important – being a mum.

Thank you for supporting Mummy’s Wish this Dry July!

We are incredibly grateful for your efforts giving up alcohol, asking your networks for donations, and spreading the word about our organisation during July. Together, we raised an amazing $91,553.48 to support mums with cancer.

We wanted to share a little more about how your fundraising efforts make a difference. Mummy’s Wish is proud to provide practical support for mums with cancer. This means we help ease some of the burden of cooking, cleaning, gardening or bills, allowing mums to spend more time on the things that really matter – like their wellbeing, and quality time with family.

We provide care packs including cancer information for mums, as well as a curated selection of books to guide conversations with children about what’s happening with their cancer, treatment, side effects and beyond. One of the most-loved elements of our care packs are our Comfort Bears. These cuddly teddies are sent to each child aged under 13, and include a recordable heart so mums can record a special message for their children for the times they cannot be together.

This year, we've had close to 700 mums register for our services for the first time, on top of those we continue to support. We’ve also distributed more than 800 Comfort Bears to children across Australia.

Your support this Dry July will continue to have a tangible impact, helping fund more Comfort Bears, books and vouchers for us to distribute to mums with cancer.

Thank you again for being part of Dry July in 2024. If you’d like to stay up-to-date with our work throughout the year, you can sign up for our newsletter.

A cancer diagnosis is devastating for anyone. When someone is told they have cancer, and they’re also a mum, the impact is even more profound.

For mums in this situation, often some of their first thoughts are about the practicalities – how to tell the kids, who will care for the children whilet they’re having treatment, how they’ll keep up with their usual tasks around the house, and whether they’ll see their children grow up.

This is where Mummy’s Wish comes in.

Every mum registered with Mummy’s Wish receives a Mummy’s Wish Care Pack.

A practical way to provide information and resources for the mums, the packs also include a selection of books carefully chosen to help have difficult conversations with young children about cancer.

Particularly impactful are the voice-recordable Comfort Bears. These cuddly teddies are provided for each child aged under 13 and allow the mums to record special messages for their children.

These voice recordings bring incredible comfort to children and families when mums are away from home, in hospital or need to travel for treatment, or sadly for when they want to keep their mum’s memories alive.

Mums have shared the profound effect the bears have had on their families, offering hope, and helping to talk about how cancer is affecting the family.

Mum Laura recorded a message for her daughter and sang her 2-year-old son’s favourite song.

“At the end of the message I tell him that I love him, and every time he listens to it (whether I’m there or not), he says ‘I love you Mum’ back to the bear,” she said.

Amanda’s family received their bear the day after she had cancer surgery and had fun recording special messages to each other.

“You have no idea the happiness your organisation has brought to our family during this difficult time,” she said.

Each bear costs Mummy’s Wish $70, but the impact is priceless.

Last year, Mummy’s Wish distributed almost 1,400 bears to children whose mums had been diagnosed with cancer, and with support from the community, will continue to provide this vital service.

Mums can also choose the practical help that would make the biggest difference for their family, such as vouchers for groceries, house cleaning, delivery of nutritious family meals or gardening.

With your support this Dry July, more mums can receive the practical support they need, so they can focus on their health and being with their children.