Medical students bond over tea and fundraising

Students from the Flinders Medical Students’ Society (FMSS) are getting on board the Cancer Council’s Biggest Morning Tea with a virtual event this month to raise money for cancer, while scheduling in a mental health-boosting social connection.

Tiani Pakos, FMSS Director for Health and Well-being, says: “It is so important to look after our well-being during medical school, especially now, with many of us spending so much time isolated from one another. Australia’s Biggest Morning Tea seemed like the perfect event for us to support not only our own health and well-being, but also that of those directly affected by cancer.”

The students are joining thousands of Australians hosting virtual Biggest Morning Teas this year, many like the FMSS society members who have close family or friends impacted by cancer.

All the money raised from the national event will go towards supporting Cancer Council SA’s vital programs and services, including its Beat Cancer Project, a research collaboration between Cancer Council SA, SAHMRI, Flinders University and South Australia’s other public universities.

Flinders University cancer researcher Dr Lauren Thurgood will be the student team’s guest speaker at their event. Dr Thurgood received a Beat Cancer Project grant in 2018 to understand nutrient uptake in blood cancers and whether altering the ability of cells to utilise nutrients could offer new therapeutic options.

For more information or to support the student’s event, visit their Biggest Morning Tea fundraising page.

This year will see a mix of virtual and physical morning teas taking into account social distancing requirements. An event to be hosted by Professor Fran Baum on 28 May will comprise a combination of both (visit Professor Baum’s fundraising page.)

The Cancer Council’s official date for its Biggest Morning Tea is Thursday 28th May 2020, but events can be hosted any time in May. Find out more or register to host an event here.

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