A Family Retreat When Brendan and Madeleine Needed It Most

In 2024, father-of-four Brendan noticed a lump on the back of his arm that concerned him. After visiting a skin cancer clinic and being reassured it was nothing to worry about, Brendan couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong and asked the doctor to freeze it off.

A few months later, Brendan’s health was in crisis. He had extremely high blood pressure, his cholesterol was dangerously high, and he had recently been diagnosed with sleep apnea. That was when he noticed the lump on his arm had returned.

In January 2025, Brendan suffered a mini-stroke. During it all, he remained concerned about the lump on his arm and decided to book an appointment to have it removed again.

“Our GP removed it and sent it off for a biopsy. A few weeks later, they told us it was category five melanoma,” says Madeleine, Brendan’s wife.

Brendan was immediately referred to an oncologist for treatment. The GP said the melanoma was so advanced that it could become life-threatening within months.

“We have four young children, two who are on the NDIS, and we were terrified.”

Within days, Brendan was booked in for surgery to remove what they could and take more samples to assess how far the melanoma had spread. However, before the surgery could go ahead, he had a second heart attack.

“We had to get clearance from everyone to go ahead with the surgery because there was a high risk that he could have another heart attack on the table.”

Madeleine and Brendan made the difficult decision to go ahead with the surgery. The results were positive, and Brendan was hopeful the worst might be behind him.

Devastatingly, a few months later tests revealed that Brendan’s cancer was back, and more aggressive, this time appearing in his skin. Brendan was referred to yet another specialist and was started on two types of immunotherapies.

“My mental health took a really bad whack at that time. It was incredibly tough. I was trying to shield the kids, but they were so worried.”

Despite having a rection to the first round of immunotherapy, Brendan persisted and was relieved when tests show that the treatment had work. Brendan is now in remission.

Madeleine, Brendan and their kids Lucy, Bonnie, Thomas and Amelia are taking each day as it comes, enjoying all the memories they are able to make together.

“We certainly can’t breathe easy, our lives are still based around his ongoing appointments. For the next five years, he has to go to Sydney regularly for tests with his endocrinologist and dermatologist. Then in Newcastle, he has his neurologist and cardiologist.”

Camp Quality offered the family a retreat to NRMA Ocean Beach Holiday Resort during the school holidays in early 2026. Madeleine says the four nights away flew by in a flurry of fun. From water slides to jumping pillows, family card games, beach football, live music, and markets, every moment spent together was cherished.

“There is no way in the world we would have gone on a holiday if not for the encouragement and generosity of the Camp Quality team.”

“The kids are still really affected by Brendan’s health. The opportunity to take a break, get away from it all and spend some real quality time with our children made such a difference. It was the circuit breaker we didn’t know we needed.”

“We are so grateful to everyone who has supported us on this journey. Knowing we have organisations like Camp Quality supporting us and checking in truly makes the experience a little less lonely, a little less scary and a little bit more manageable.”