Australian leaders, imagine your child is wearing the first mask.
Imagine you have the power to influence where that mask takes them.
Imagine that treatment could happen here in Australia, surrounded by the people they love, the doctors they know and trust, and without having to leave everything familiar behind.
Now look at the five masks that follow. They represent something many people never see.
The first mask is cancer. It is the diagnosis, the treatment, the fear and the fight to survive.
The others are survivorship.
They are the years that follow. The braces. The secondary diagnoses. The lifelong consequences. The reality that cancer doesn't simply disappear when treatment ends, it changes shape.
Every one of these masks tells the story of a child who kept growing. That is something I will never take for granted.
What I am asking of Australia's leaders is simple.
Place yourselves in the shoes of the families who are begging you to understand the reality of childhood cancer. Understand that the decisions you make today don't end when frontline treatment finishes. They shape the future a child grows into.
These masks should never have to be worn overseas. They should have been worn on Australian soil.
Australia has already recognised the need for proton therapy. The evidence has been reviewed. The infrastructure is built. The clinicians are ready. The recommendations have been made.
Families have now waited more than two years for a decision.
Show leadership. Show accountability. Show compassion.
Because the next child diagnosed with cancer deserves the chance to line up more than one mask on their bedroom floor.
If this matters to you, please stand with Australian families by signing and sharing our petition. https://c.org/KSCP5B2Rdx