On Friday 20 March 2025, Canteen held a very special event to celebrate 40 years of impact. Supporters, donors, corporate partners, philanthropic leaders, board members, volunteers and youth ambassadors gathered at Salesforce Tower Sydney as the sun set over the city, for a night of storytelling, connection, and renewed commitment to young Australians facing cancer.
A heartfelt thank you to everyone who joined us, and to Salesforce for the breathtaking venue. The 360-degree views across Sydney and the harbour provided a phenomenal backdrop.
Where it all began
In 1985, six young cancer patients decided they didn't want to face cancer alone. They didn't wait for a government program or a boardroom decision, they built the support they needed themselves. From that founding act, Canteen has grown into one of the most respected adolescent and young adult (AYA) cancer support organisations in the world.
Forty years, measured in moments
In the past year alone, Canteen delivered nearly 32,000 cancer support services, which is a 28% increase on the prior year, including:
- More than 6,500 counselling sessions
- 219 peer support programs
- Direct support for 2,500 young patients through Youth Cancer Services in hospitals across Australia.
99 percent of young people supported by Canteen say they would recommend the organisation to others.
As CEO Siona Hardy reflected on the night, behind every number is a human story: the frightened teenager who called at midnight not knowing who else to turn to; the retreat where a young person laughed, really laughed, for the first time since their diagnosis. One clinician shared four words a young person had said to her that she will never forget:
"Canteen saved my life."
The stories that drive us
Guests heard from Youth Ambassador Imogen, whose life changed when a chest infection she picked up on a family holiday turned out to be something far more serious - a Frantz tumour, a rare cancer of the pancreas. Imogen spoke movingly about the moment of diagnosis and how Canteen connected her with others who truly understood what she was going through, alongside career and education support that helped her find a path forward. The room broke into warm applause when she revealed she is now in her third year of a Bachelor of Social Work at Western Sydney University - inspired by the social workers at Canteen and in hospital who supported her along the way.
CEO Siona Hardy shared further stories from the front line. Saskia was diagnosed at 17 with a rare oral cancer, underwent surgery that left her having to relearn how to speak, and is now studying nursing.
"I've learned I don't have to just survive. I can thrive."
Holly lost six friends to cancer during her own treatment and speaks with quiet clarity about what needs to change: cancer survival, she says, must shift "from a privilege to an expectation." And Dawson, who held a rugby scholarship when his testicular cancer diagnosis arrived, describes the layered trauma of losing not just his health, but his sense of who he was.
Why youth cancer demands urgent attention
Youth cancer is not childhood cancer arriving late, nor adult cancer arriving early. It is its own category, biologically and psychologically distinct, and until recently, largely invisible in Australia's national health conversation. Youth cancers have increased 50% since the 1980s. Bowel cancer in young Australians has risen 370%, giving Australia the highest rate of young-onset bowel cancer in the world. Sarcoma survival rates have not improved in over 40 years. Young people frequently fall through a gap in the health system being too old for paediatric care and too young for adult oncology, and each diagnosis carries an estimated $1.3 million in lifetime health, social and productivity costs.
For many in the room, these statistics landed with fresh force as stark and sobering introduction to the scale of a crisis they hadn't fully seen before. For others, longtime supporters of Canteen, they were a powerful reminder of exactly why they keep showing up. In both cases, the response was the same: a room full of people more determined more than ever to be part of the solution.
Looking ahead
Canteen's 2025–2029 strategy commits to more than one million meaningful touchpoints with young people impacted by cancer, reaching 25% of those newly diagnosed each year, and raising $220 million over four years to expand services and drive lasting system-level change.
To everyone who was in the room on that very special Friday night, thank you. You are the reason Canteen can say to every young person facing cancer in Australia: you are not alone.
