Staff and children at the centre donned warm bonnets in the name of charity, raising money for Brain Cancer research. 

The fundraising effort was the idea of staff member Coral Burleigh, who knows all too well the tough journey patients diagnosed with the disease travel. 

Her brother Christian Williams died in January, aged just 40. 

“He was diagnosed three years ago and went through three operations, two rounds of Chemotherapy and a round of radiotherapy,” Ms Burleigh said. 

“It was tough watching him go through that, he had two young children and it just happened so quickly.

“Nothing helped.” 

Ms Burleigh said her brother, who lived in Melbourne, had two young children and his wife was forced to leave her job to care for him full time. 

“My mum, who lives in Caramut, was almost living full time in Melbourne to help out,” she said. 

“It was so hard to watch him go through that and slowly slip away from us.

“Towards the end, it became to much for my daughters, they couldn’t take seeing their uncle like that.” 

Brain cancer kills more children than any other disease.

It also kills more Australian’s aged under 40 than any other cancer. 

About 1600 brain cancers are diagnosed each year in Australia –  with roughly one person diagnosed every five hours. 

Only two in ten people diagnosed will survive for at least five years.

Treatment and care costs more per patient than any other cancer because of its highly debilitating effects. 

Despite the harrowing statistics, the disease receives less than five percent of federal government cancer research funding. 

Television presenter Carrie Bickmore shone a spotlight on the disease when she accepted the Gold Logie in May, urging people to don a beanie to help raise awareness. 

Collection boxes were placed in each room at the centre yesterday and Ms Burleigh said she was heartened by the support of the staff, parents and children.