Many of you will remember reading about our incredible Cure Cancer supporter, Eleanor McCleave, whose friends held a gala in her honour in Perth, raising an incredible $35,000 to fund life-saving cancer research with Cure Cancer. We are heartbroken to share the news that 26-year-old Eleanor’s own brain cancer journey came to an end last month.
Having succeeded in becoming an intensively trained theatre nurse at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital (fondly nicknamed ‘Charlie’s’), Esperance girl Eleanor was looking forward to a future working in a field that she felt incredibly passionate about. But in 2021, a seizure saw Eleanor head to the Emergency Department instead of to her shift. What followed came as shock to everyone who knew her. Eleanor was diagnosed with a rare, aggressive brain tumour.
Over the next 18 months, Eleanor underwent intensive treatment at her place of work before discovering that the cancer was terminal. Yet despite the devastating news, Eleanor was determined to continue living her best life on her own terms – and she certainly achieved her wish! In the last few months of her life, Eleanor ticked off a phenomenal bucket list: modelling nude for an art class; cage diving with Great Whites; riding in a motor glider over York; hiking to the Fairy Pools on the Isle of Skye; drinking butterbeer at the Harry Potter Studios in London; sailing the Saronic Islands in Greece; and catching a lifetime of sunsets on a road trip to Broome with her sister.
Eleanor passed away on November 5th 2022, surrounded by her loved ones. We would like to take this opportunity to thank Eleanor and her fellow ‘Charlie’s Angels’ nurses, Sarah, Breigh, Leyanne, and Louise for the incredible impact their fundraising will make on the future of cancer research.
“There are millions of other stories just like mine, but tonight is not for us,” said Eleanor, speaking at the Embracing Eleanor Gala in September. ‘Tonight is for the stories that are yet to be written... It is for the patients, the loved ones, the carers, and medical teams, so that their journey may lead them to complete recovery.”
Our thoughts are with Eleanor’s family and friends in this difficult time. Her free spirit, hunger for adventure, and selfless generosity will never be forgotten.
