General News
26 October, 2024
Do it for Dylan: Run of brotherly love
COMMUNITY is rallying around Dylan Hatcher in his battle with cancer with plans for a 240km run from Melbourne to Boort. The Boort District Hospital administration officer and Magpie footballer is mid-way through chemotherapy after a shock...
COMMUNITY is rallying around Dylan Hatcher in his battle with cancer with plans for a 240km run from Melbourne to Boort.
The Boort District Hospital administration officer and Magpie footballer is mid-way through chemotherapy after a shock non-Hodgkin lymphoma diagnosis that cut short his football season last month.
Brother Chris and five mates will make the 24-hour run on December 28. Plans for Do It for Dylan - limp4lymphoma have already seen what Dylan and Chris have described as amazing community support.
“After the initial bad news - no one wants to hear they have cancer - there’s been good news and I’m feeling optimistic,” said Dyland.
“The run and the support I have already had from the community is awesome.
“You hear about wonderful community support and I am experiencing that now first-hand and seeing people come together to help.”
Chris said the idea for December’s run started as “I just wanted to do something myself and support Dylan” and raise awareness.
“Then I got chatting to a close group of friends, we started spit-balling crazy ideas and then came up with the 24-hour run from Melbourne to Boort,” he said.
“We’ve now picked up sponsors and a great team of runners. Some of them, Jordan Bell, did this year’s Melbourne Marathon.”
Dylan, 26, said: “It’s all a bit overwhelming ... it will be a big effort by the boys and I’m glad it’s not me.”
He had been playing full games of football until weeks before the diagnosis. “In the first semi-final, I only played half a game when normally I would have been on the ground all day,” he said.
“Over a few weeks I had been feeling less fit than I should have been at the end of the season. Things got worse pretty quickly and I realised something serious was going on.”
Chris said: “We have set up a GoFundMe page to ask people to donate their money to support my brother by covering financial costs during this time, with any excess money being donated to the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre.”
The run will include a final 5km leg on December 29 open to anyone who wishes to finish the Do It For Dylan Crew and want to support Dylan, and other people affected by cancer.
More than $22,000 has already been raised for Do It 4 Dylan.
People wanting to donate to the fundraiser can visit https://www.gofundme.com/f/donate-to-help-dylan-and-the-cancer-research-foundation