2026 VIC Australian of the Year - Carrie Bickmore OAM

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[Music]

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So, I lost my late husband, Greg, to

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brain cancer after a 9-year battle with

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the disease. I was in my early 20s when

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I woke up one night with him having a

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seizure in the bed next to me. And what

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then ensued was 9 years of living hell

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for him. And that decade would

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completely and utterly shape the rest of

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my life. As time goes on, I’m able to

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try and use that pain and turn it into

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something a bit more powerful. And now,

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as I’ve met so many families who’ve been

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through brain cancer, I’ve met so many

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researchers. I’ve met I’ve just met so

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many people. This story is much bigger

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than mine. Now, the brain cancer center

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is trying to do medical research in a

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different way. It’s a collaborative

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space where we encourage all the

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different institutes and hospitals to

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access our funds but talk to each other

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collaboratively and share their wealth

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of information, share their knowledge so

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that we can collectively find a cure.

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We’ve seen it in other cancers where uh

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collaboration begins. That’s where a

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cure is found. It is the most

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mind-blowingly amazing thing to think

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that that’s what’s happening at a center

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as a result of people buying a $29.95

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beanie. Oh, the highlights I’ve had um

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really vary from the monumental moments

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where we raised I think $5 million in

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I think it was 1 hour during our project

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special, but all the way to meeting

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families who’ve lost someone lost a

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child to brain cancer and them looking

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me in the eye and just saying thank you

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like thank you. Somebody’s got to do

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something because no other family can go

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through what we’ve gone through. like

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it’s hell and I understand that and I

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think they’re the moments for me that I

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think about well into the night when I

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can’t sleep and then there’s the other

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moments like walking into a lab and the

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incredible researcher next to me is

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going hey this is incredible what we’ve

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seen through here seeing the excitement

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in their eyes and going that’s happened

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because they’ve been funded for the last

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three years to work on a project through

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our brain cancer center and through

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car’s beanies of brain cancer so there’s

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been some incredible moments in all

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different areas over the last 10 years

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and yeah I’m looking forward to more of

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them. I mean, I’d really

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love to be able to stand up in a few

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years time and look Australians in the

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face and go, “Our country has found a

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cure for brain cancer.

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[Music]

Updated 9 January 2026

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2026 VIC Australian of the Year - Carrie Bickmore OAM

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