Wendy preparing for her preventative surgery in hospital.
The Victorian Cancer Biobank’s ability to support cancer research relies on the donations of tissue and blood specimens from generous participants.
One such donor, Wendy Harrold, donated her breast tissue to the Victorian Cancer Biobank after undergoing a preventative double mastectomy and reconstruction in 2018. Wendy lost her mother to breast cancer nearly 40 years prior to this, and subsequently found out she also had a breast cancer gene called PALB2. This PALB2 gene was also found in Wendy’s daughter, Elle, who also decided to donate her breast tissue after undertaking a preventative double mastectomy.
"If more people knew about donating tissue for research it would be a really great thing –it can help a lot of other people for years to come. I have watched how far research has come over the years since my mum was diagnosed. Without research and funds to do so, we wouldn’t have cures, treatments or medications for so many diseases and illnesses today."
The VCB consortium thank all the biobank donors for their kind donations that have enabled many research breakthroughs to improve cancer outcomes.