Australians have been sharing a cuppa and cake to help fight cancer for 30 years thanks to Australia’s Biggest Morning Tea. Hannah Hammoud spoke to two hosts in Melbourne’s West determined to do their bit for a cancer-free future.
Last year, Bethany Riebl was sat on her couch planning her first Biggest Morning Tea with her husband Max who she was caring for during his palliative care at home.
In the business of organising the event, Max took a quiet moment to share with Bethany that he hoped her first morning tea would be a good one.
“Yes of course, it’s going to be really great. What are you talking about?,” Bethany replied.
“Well,” Max said. “I don’t think I’m going to be here and I really hope that doesn’t overshadow the morning tea.”
Bethany’s husband, Max was in palliative care at home with a rare form of brain cancer. He had an incurable brain tumour called diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma.
“As always, he was right,” Bethany said.
“He wasn’t there for the morning tea. He passed away about a week and a half before, and so our first morning tea ended up being in his memory.
“It was bittersweet.”
This year, Australia’s Biggest Morning Tea (ABMT) will mark 30 years of the initiative across Australia. During the months of May or June, Australians are encouraged to make a cup of tea to support the Cancer Council’s mission of a cancer-free future. Research from the Cancer Council reveals that one in two Australian men and women will be diagnosed with cancer by the age of 85.
Bethany said she was proud to fulfil her husband’s wishes to be cared for at their home in Brooklyn during his palliative care.
“The decision to do that and to be with him every step of the way was the easiest decision I’ve ever made. In saying that, it was also the hardest thing I’ve ever done,” she said.
“Emotionally it was extraordinarily difficult during the time period of caring for him and looking after him. Seeing the person that you love and the father of your children die was extraordinarily emotionally difficult.
“ … I was just doing everything I could to really try and save him. I still held onto hope until the very last second.
“At the time I had been so busy, I was looking after two kids. I was still working, I was caring for him full-time, I was up around the clock looking after him.
“It wasn’t until after he passed away and looking back on that time period that I realised how emotionally hard that was.
“ … However, in saying that, I would go through that time a million times over if I could just to have time with him again.”
Last year Bethany raised $20,000 for ABMT. She said that she will continue to host it every year as a tribute to her late husband.
“As soon as Max died the most important thing for me was to keep going with his legacy,” she said.
While the day rehashes difficult memories, Bethany hopes that by sharing their story she can help others experiencing something similar know that they’re not alone.
“The reality is that I think about him every second of every day,” she said,
“If I can use the pain that we’ve been through as a family, whether it be raising vital funds for cancer research or just letting another family know … that they will be OK in a different way of being OK than what they’re used to, then it’s worth it for me.”
Cancer Council Victoria fundraising manager Natalie Gibbs said that ABMT fundraising goes toward supporting people with cancer as well as research and prevention. This year the national fundraising goal is $13 million.
“It’s just been amazing to see the number of hosts getting behind Australia’s Biggest Morning Tea each year. We’ve had over 500,000 hosts in those 30 years,” she said.
“What we do know sadly is that all of us will be affected by cancer at some point in our lives, and as a result of that I think hosts and guests really do feel that personal reason to get involved and be part of it.
“We get to celebrate those that have managed to fight off cancer, we also get to remember those that sadly haven’t at this event, whilst at the same time bringing everyone together.
Danielle Calvi and her husband Robert will be hosting their first morning tea this May at their work place in Keilor Downs, to give back to the Cancer Council and celebrate Robert’s recovery from cancer.
In 2021, a routine colonoscopy discovered that Robert had a large tumour in his colon. Within a month he was diagnosed with stage 4 colorectal cancer.
Danielle, who at the time was five months pregnant, said that on the way to the appointment she and Robert joked that everything would be fine as long as it wasn’t stage 4.
“ … Then just hearing that he had stage 4, we were very scared. At the time we had three other little kids at home that were all under five,” she said.
Ahead of their first morning tea, Danielle said that she and her husband hope to host every year for as long as they are able to.
“Every day is a celebration for us now,” she said.
Danielle said that for families dealing with cancer, the information available to them from the Cancer Council is a vital resource in their journey.
“When you go into this you’re completely blind, it’s not something that you deal with day to day.
“Being told that you have cancer is gut wrenching, you don’t know what to ask when you go in for your oncology appointments, you go blank at the doctors, they throw words at you that you don’t understand.
“When you get to go home and reassess everything and you’re still sitting there with questions you’re able to get that extra bit of information. You can call or visit the [Cancer Council] website.
“The website is very informative especially considering my husband was given a 16 per cent chance of living. We were thinking, well, where do we go? What do we do?”
Australia’s Biggest Morning Tea will officially be held on Thursday, May 25 however, people can register to host an event any time throughout May or June.
