Project Pink returns to Stellarossa this October

Thanks to the Stellarossa cafe communities across Queensland, Project Pink is back this October, with 23 locally owned stores raising funds for breast cancer research and patient care at the PA Hospital.

This year it's anticipated that more than 20,400 women and over 200 men in Australia will be diagnosed with breast cancer. Sadly, more than 3,000 people still lose their life to the disease each year. There is hope and good news in that survival rates have lifted from 76% in the early 90s to 92%, an improvement built on research that community support has helped make possible, but the job is far from done.

Money raised through Project Pink goes towards breast cancer research projects led by clinicians and researchers on the PA Hospital campus, work that is helping find new ways to personalise treatment for each patient, so that more of our loved ones not only survive a breast cancer diagnosis. Funds are also directed towards patient support projects that help people live well during and after their treatment. Many cancer research labs don't receive Government funding, which is part of why the support of Stellarossa customers has mattered so much over the years.

Community Partnerships Manager Ellen Dann said the strength of the campaign has always come from the cafes themselves.

“Every Stellarossa is locally owned and operated, so when a store puts its hand up for Project Pink it's really the local community putting its hand up, the franchise partners, their teams, and the regulars who come in for a coffee every morning,” she said.

“Since 2015 those communities have raised more than $150,000 for breast cancer research and patient care at the PA, which is an extraordinary thing to have built one cup of coffee, one conversation at a time.”

For patients like Gemma (pictured below), who was treated for HER-2 positive breast cancer at the PA, that research is what hope looks like, with Professor Fiona Simpson and her team working towards a clinical trial that could offer new treatment options for women with similar diagnoses.

You can back your local store's fundraising tally and support breast cancer research and patient care at the PA Hospital by visiting your local Stellarossa café and supporting Project Pink during breast cancer awareness month this October. You can also make a direct donation to Stellarossa’s Project Pink efforts here.