Former AFL player Kane Cornes is known for having one of the biggest voices in Australian sport and a resume to back it up, with 300 games and a premiership with Port Adelaide to his name.
But now Cornes is on another journey that may silence even his harshest critics as he runs from Adelaide to Melbourne to raise money for kids with cancer.
The former footy player said the run, which he is doing as part of the My Room Children’s Cancer Charity Telethon, is around 780 kilometres long.
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“Over 12 days, it’s about 65 kilometres a day, to raise money for kids with cancer and their families that have been affected by it,” Cornes told A Current Affair reporter Seb Costello.
“I’ve never done anything like this. It does sound crazy and I’m nervous about it, but I’m sure I’ll get it done.”
Motivating Cornes is a truly worthy cause.
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My Room Children’s Cancer Charity Telethon has helped hundreds of families, like the Formasos from Melbourne.
On Good Friday this year, nine-year-old Luka Formaso began convulsing.
So the family raced him to hospital, where blood tests revealed he had acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
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“It was the worst possible news we could ever receive as parents and we were told that we need to start treatment immediately and he was in pretty bad shape,” his mother, Lana, said.
Over the following next few months, sports-mad Luka swapped the cricket and soccer pitches for a hospital bed, as cancer and chemotherapy ravaged his young body.
Meanwhile, his despairing parents said they went to some dark places themselves.
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“I had a cousin that suffered from the same condition, so I couldn’t help but think that it (the cancer) was something I had passed on to him through my DNA, and our lives changed overnight,” Lana said.
While doctors fought Luka’s cancer in hospital, the Formasos faced another threat at home.
Their house had a mould that could be lethal to Luka.
Fortunately for them, My Room Children’s Cancer Charity stepped in to help and found a safer home for them to stay in, leaving this family forever grateful.
“We would urge and beg anyone to donate and be part of this charity … because it’s saving not only children, but all of the families this affects on so many levels,” Lana said through tears.
With sponsors like running shoe brand Hoka on board, Cornes is set to arrive in Melbourne on Thursday.
The charity is expected to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations to help kids like Luka.
For more information about how to donate, visit here.
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