Twice the Distance, Twice the Fight:
MHF Trekkers Take on Kokoda Back to Back
The Mark Hughes Foundation will embark on an incredible double crossing of the legendary Kokoda Track, when the 2025 MHF Trek digs deep once again in the fight against brain cancer in October following the NRL season.
Completing a single crossing is a feat that less than 1% of Australians have conquered, this year MHF will take it up a notch in an effort to raise $500,000 and much needed awareness for brain cancer in this gruelling double crossing.
Mark Hughes will lead a group of 25, that has fundraised individually for MHF, including ambassadors Danny Buderus and Bill Peden for an epic 192km journey across the treacherous Kokoda Track – not once, but twice in just 12 days.
The trek will see the group push through intense humidity, steep mountain ranges, and dense jungle conditions – retracing the steps of our Aussie WWII diggers while honouring their courage and sacrifice. For the team, it’s also about going above and beyond in the fight against brain cancer.
One Australian is diagnosed with brain cancer every five hours, and it remains the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in children under 10 and adults under 40. It is relentless. The Kokoda Back to Back challenge is a way of raising vital funds to support patients, their families, and critical research to change these devastating statistics.
MHF Founder Mark Hughes, said: “Kokoda represents mateship, resilience and courage – qualities that perfectly reflect the fight we’re in against brain cancer. Tackling this trek twice, back to back, will test every part of us physically and mentally, but that challenge is nothing compared to what patients and families face every single day. We’re incredibly proud of every one of our trekkers for stepping up and taking on our biggest challenge to date”
MHF Ambassador and former captain of the NSW Blues and Knights, Danny Buderus said: “We’ve taken on plenty of epic challenges over the last decade including Mt Everest, Mt Kilimanjaro and cycling through Vietnam and Cambodia, but Kokoda Back to Back will be our toughest yet. It demands resilience and mateship, and that’s exactly what this cause is all about.”
The Mark Hughes Foundation continues to build momentum in the fight against brain cancer, aiming to raise $500,000 from this Trek alone.
These funds will contribute towards the MHF Centre for Brain Cancer Research at the University of Newcastle rolling out a ground-breaking new clinical trial to patients, to test how well a blood test can track tumour progression compared to gold-standard MRI.
In the same way that PSA is monitored for prostate cancer – a patient’s blood sample will be used to track tumour progression in brain cancer to help guide treatment and care.
“This exciting new pilot study, in close collaboration with our colleagues in Queensland, is the next step in the MHF Centre’s development,” says Professor Mike Fay, MHF Foundation Chair and Director of the MHF Centre.
“It has the potential to be a game changer in diagnosis and treatment of brain cancer, especially for people living in regional and remote areas, by reducing the need for frequent hospital visits and scans.”
The community is encouraged to follow the team’s journey, support their fundraising efforts, and stand alongside the thousands of families impacted by brain cancer each year.
For more information or to donate, visit: www.markhughesfoundation.com.au.
Brain Cancer statistics
• Survival rates have hardly increased over the last 35 years
• Kills more children under 10 than any other disease
• Only 2/10 people diagnosed will live more than 5 years
• Kills more adults under 40 than any other cancer
• One person every 5 hours is diagnosed in Australia
About MHF
The Mark Hughes Foundation (MHF) is a charity formed in Newcastle by Mark and Kirralee Hughes following Mark’s diagnosis with brain cancer in 2013. The Mark Hughes Foundation’s mission is to raise much needed funds for research, to create awareness and support brain cancer patients and their families.
For further information:
Kris Buderus | Mark Hughes Foundation
0428 147 000 | events@markhughesfoundation.com.au
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