The seventh annual MACA Ride to Conquer Cancer raised more than $4 million for the Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research over the weekend.
The 200km ride saw 1000 cyclists make the trip from Perth’s McCallum Park to Mandurah on Saturday, where they would stay the night in a set-up “tent city” before journeying home on Sunday.
Together they raised $4.1 million for the institute, which takes the event’s total to more than $31 million across its seven years.
Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research director Peter Leedman labelled it a remarkable effort.
“This is the seventh annual MACA Ride to Conquer Cancer and every year the ride is a powerful tribute to people who suffer from this terrible disease,” he said.
“The riders are remarkable. They fundraise throughout the year to support cancer research because they want to make a difference, and they train for months to complete the 200km round trip.”
The ride forms a huge part of the institute’s fundraising drive, which Mr Leedman said was critical.
“With one in two Australian men and one in three Australian women diagnosed with cancer before the age of 85, we know that investment in cancer research is critical if we want to reduce the impact of this terrible disease,” he said.
“At the Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research there are more than 250 researchers from around the world working in our laboratories in Perth researching many different cancer types, particularly the hard to treat cancers such as triple negative breast cancer, drug resistant melanoma, pancreatic cancer, prostate cancer, liver cancer, brain tumours.
“We are incredibly grateful to the continued support of everyone involved in the MACA Ride to Conquer Cancer.”
The two-day ride touches the thousands of participants and their supporters and brings together communities of survivors, people who know cancer sufferers or who have lost a friend or family member to cancer.
Anyone who would like to donate to the ride can visit conquercancer.org.au
