WARPNINE charity chief executive pushes her body to the limits to raise vital cancer research funds

Boxing for 24 hours is exactly as gruelling as it sounds, even if it is becoming a norm for Meg Croucher. Ms Croucher kept the gloves on for 24 hours at Myaree’s Southside Gym from 9am Saturday, taking only one-minute breaks between three-minute rounds, to raise funds for rare cancer research. Though exhausted on Sunday, she said the effort had left her feeling overwhelmed with positivity. “I feel ridiculously good, it’s such a euphoric feeling, it never ceases to amaze me the extreme emotions that you get, especially in those last three or four rounds,” Ms Croucher said. Teammates and other boxes joined for one-hour session to spur on the feat. It is the third time the avid boxing trainer has taken on the huge task, but a recent diagnosis of Type 1 diabetes added an extra challenge over this weekend. “I probably struggled the most around 11pm when my blood glucose levels were just not stable and I was having to eat for the sake of eating to try and stop my levels from falling and put me in an unsafe position to continue my activity ... I eat low carb because I am type 1, so shoving sugary stuff down my throat does not sit right or make me feel particularly amazing.” Ms Croucher said. The chief executive of WARPNINE, a Subiaco-based medical charity set up to fund clinical trials into gastro-intestinal, pancreatic and rare cancers, put herself to the test to raise money for a cause that is close to her heart after beating her own rare cancer. Ms Croucher was diagnosed with cervical cancer when she was only 27, leading to a hysterectomy and her taking oral chemotherapy. The cancer was caught early but the now 41-year-old said others weren’t as lucky and it was new research that could be the key to saving more lives. “My grandfather passed away from pancreatic cancer, I’ve had a rare cancer and I’ve had family members with cancers passing away as well,” Ms Croucher said. “We know that research works — that’s been proven by the improvements in breast, prostate and colon cancers. “There’s just not enough research into these rarer cancers because they are particularly nasty, because people don’t get the results and we get that can be disheartening but at the same time if we don’t continue to look into these more challenging cancers, we’re not going to get the progress that is so desperately needed.” Despite having not slept in 24 hours, there was no time for rest after the mammoth boxing challenge for Ms Croucher, who was also off to attend a charity sausage sizzle and raffle draw later in the day. “Then I’ll take myself home and probably plonk on the couch at around 4pm and try and keep my eyes open until at least 6.30pm this evening,” Ms Croucher said. Although her mission was physically exhausting, Ms Croucher emphasised that it doesn’t compare to the physical pain endured by cancer patients. “You are understandably a little fatigued a couple of days afterwards but nothing compared to what people with cancer are going through on a day-to-day basis,” Ms Croucher said. “I get to choose this particular fight and hopefully it gives someone just that little lift to keep going. “It’s good if they know that people are standing in solidarity with them.” WARPNINE chair and St John of God Subiaco oncologist Andrew Dean said it was fundraisers like Ms Croucher’s that made funding life-saving research possible. “We’re now funding studies that look like they’re going to very high impact, which has got the potential to drastically change the outcome for those miserable cancers,” he said. Dr Dean was amazed by the physical ordeal that Ms Croucher endured to pay respect to those going through cancer treatment. “To not only stay awake for 24 hours but to do continuous rapid fire exercise for that entire time is an incredible feat of endurance, strength and willpower.” “For Meg to throw herself wholeheartedly into this challenge is a massive gesture of goodwill and support for all the patients that have to go through these long-term, ongoing treatments,” Dr Dean said. For more information and to donate, visit this link.