Pictured (L-R): Colleen Jreissati, Caroline Le, Michael Ehrentraut, Kieren Devisser

On Monday, 1 July, Kieren Devisser, the executive producer of feature film ‘Kennedy,” took his first steps from Federation Square in Melbourne as he takes on the enormous challenge of running 2000km to Brisbane during July.

Kieren is taking part in Viridian Foundation's W4R National Step Challenge, raising essential funds for the Jreissati Pancreatic Centre at Epworth to help find new and better ways to diagnose, treat and care for people with this deadly disease.

Addressing media at Federation Square, Caroline Le, Program Manager at the Jreissati Pancreatic Centre at Epworth said, “We are so grateful to people like Kieren, and Viridian Foundation, who are leading incredible fundraising efforts that will go directly to finding better ways to detect and diagnose pancreatic cancer earlier, as we know this will ultimately improve outcomes.”

Pancreatic cancer is predicted to become the second biggest cancer killer in Australia by 2030.

The Jreissati Pancreatic Centre at Epworth was launched three years ago to advance research and treatment options for people living with pancreatic cancer. Since then, it has had more than 500 patient referrals seeking expert care and conducted more than 6000 clinical and research visits. The centre is the only one of its kind in Australia to have a dedicated pancreatic specialist nursing team.

Caroline Le is thankful for the generosity of donors and fundraisers who are helping the Jreissati Pancreatic Centre at Epworth to make a genuine impact on this disease. “Every dollar raised for our centre gets us closer to understanding more about this disease so we can hopefully intercept its growth and improve quality of life for those living with pancreatic cancer.”

Thank you, Kieren, and thank you to everyone who is walking and raising money for the W4R challenge!