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In 2019, Kylan Beech came up with the idea to ride 220kms from Adelaide to the Riverland with his brothers and raise funds for Cancer Council. His motivation was his mum, Tammy, who was diagnosed with lung cancer and passed away. At the end of this year, Kylan and his brothers are getting back on their bikes but this time they’re crossing state lines to fundraise for a cancer free future.  

Kylan was just 14 when he lost his mum and best friend, Tammy-Lee Beech, to lung cancer. She didn’t smoke and had no symptoms, and her family never saw it coming. Kylan has been left wondering why his mum’s cancer couldn’t be detected earlier, and why he has had to go through life without his mum.

“Just after we lost mum, I didn’t know what to do, and to be honest, some days I still don’t. We were close, our family was close, and wherever mum used to go, I would go too.”

In 2019, at just 17 years old, Kylan found inspiration in his loss and came up with the idea of ‘220 For Tammy’—to ride 220kms from Adelaide to Barmera to raise money for cancer research.

“Mum was the kind of person who always put others before herself and I started thinking—maybe I should take a leaf out of her book and do that as well.

“My hope with ‘220 for Tammy’ was that it would be a way for us all to remember and celebrate mum. And it was.”

Kylan was joined by his three older brothers—Jono, Nick and Jordan—in the 220km ride from Adelaide to Barmera. During their two-day ride, the four Beech brothers faced bushfire smoke, dust and cramps, but made it through with the help of their mum’s favourite quote “It may be stormy now, but it never lasts forever”, which was never far from their minds.

In a true show of community spirit, the town of Barmera rallied their support around the boys and their cause. The Beech brothers were amazed to see their initial $10,000 fundraising goal triple to more than $30,000!

Three years have passed since ‘220 for Tammy’, and Kylan and his brothers are ready to get back on their bikes this November, but this time they plan to ride a massive 2,200 kilometres from the Gold Coast to Adelaide! Their goal is to raise an incredible $50,000 for cancer research and vital services for Australians impacted by cancer.

Cancer Council SA couldn’t do the work we do without our Do It For Cancer fundraisers. In the past year, the Do It For Cancer community has raised more than $3.7 million for a future free from cancer.

If you love to move, you can get active and raise funds towards a cancer free future, just like Kylan. Challenge yourself, join an organised race or set up your own a sports day—there are so many ways to get active and Do It For Cancer.

To find out more about how you can get active and Do It For Cancer, visit www.cancersa.org.au/get-involved/fundraising.