Gladstone's Bruce Baldwin sets out on bike for brain cancer to honour late wife Natalie
By Jasmine Hines
ABC Capricornia
Topic:Cancer
15m ago15 minutes agoThu 3 Apr 2025 at 12:33am
A man in a cycling suit and bicycle stand in front of the back of a caravan
Retiree Bruce Baldwin is planning to ride his bicycle around Australia for his late wife. (ABC News: Jasmine Hines)
In short:
Central Queensland's Bruce Baldwin is biking through Australia to raise funds for brain cancer research.
The Cure Brain Cancer Foundation says survival rates are low and have not changed substantially in the last 30 years.
What's next?
The charity says clinical trials are underway, but funding is needed to expand access for every patient.
When Bruce Baldwin's wife Natalie complained of a headache she shrugged it off.
The following week his wife of 30 years died from a brain aneurysm.
"It was very sudden and while we were in intensive care I just felt so helpless," he said.
An old photo of a man and a woman
Bruce with his late wife Natalie. (Supplied: Bruce Baldwin)
After a visit to the GP where she was advised to take Panadol, Mr Baldwin noticed Natalie's face had drooped.
Suspecting a stroke she was raced to hospital.
"That's when they found the tumour in the back of her brain," Mr Baldwin said.
"Even if we had found it six months prior there was nothing we could do. It would have taken her."
Mr Baldwin said by evening his wife had lost consciousness and was placed into palliative care.
A close up of an older man wearing a yellow top looking sombre
Mr Baldwin wants more funding for research and clinical trials. (ABC News: Jasmine Hines)
Almost a decade later Mr Baldwin has set the ambitious goal of cycling around Australia to raise awareness and funds for the Cure Brain Cancer Foundation in honour of Natalie.
A retiree who lives at Gladstone in central Queensland, Mr Baldwin plans to ride more than 16,000 kilometres in six months.
"She was a beautiful lady. This is probably the only thing I can do for her now," he said.
A man near a bike and caravan, he is wearing yellow cyclist gear
Mr Baldwin's adventure will span more than 16,000km. (ABC News: Jasmine Hines)
According to the charity, the 23 per cent survival rate for brain cancer has not improved significantly in the past 30 years.
"At the moment there's limited spots for trial participants who want to get the trials going, and that's where the money will go that Bruce is raising for us," chief executive Andrew Giles said.
Clinical trials
Mr Giles said about 1,900 Australians are diagnosed with brain cancer every year, and of those about 1,500 will die.
He said treatment is complicated and there are limited options which work.
A man smiles, he is wearing a shirt that says 'walk for brain cancer'
Andrew Giles says funds are required to expand clinical trials in Australia. (Supplied: Cure Brain Cancer Foundation)
A number of clinical trials are run nationally, funded by the foundation, governments, and other groups.
One trial the foundation is funding is investigating which therapies can improve overall survival rates for glioblastoma, an aggressive and fast-growing cancer.
While there are six sites across the country where a glioblastoma trial is taking place — Sydney, Newcastle, two in Melbourne, Brisbane, and Adelaide — Mr Giles said access was an issue.
"We only had 50 places. We need to make these single trials broader so that more people can join them,"
Mr Giles said.
The charity is seeking $10 million in funding from state and federal governments to expand clinical trials in Australia.
Mr Giles said that figure would ensure every person diagnosed with brain cancer who wanted to access a clinical trial could access the treatment.
A mans hands holding push bike handlebars
Fundraisers like Mr Baldwin's help raise money for research and clinical trials. (ABC News: Jasmine Hines)
Since 2015 the federal government has invested more than $64.4 million for grants focusing on brain cancer research through its Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF).
This includes more than $26 million to support clinical trials.
The government's Australian Brain Cancer Mission is also investing $126.4 million across 10 years from 2017 to support research into brain cancer, including $50 million from the MRFF and $67.4 million from funding partners.
Mr Giles said the earlier that patients were diagnosed the quicker they could potentially access a trial and find a therapy which would improve their outcome.
But he said many patients, like Natalie, were diagnosed too late.
That can be because the warning signs — such as migraines, shakes, or flu-like symptoms — were easily dismissed, he said.
"The biggest problem with brain cancer and clinical trials is that people don't live long enough to get on the trial. It's only about a 12-month survival rate,"
Mr Giles said.
"That's quite heartbreaking."
Remembering Natalie
Mr Baldwin and Natalie met and fell in love after friends introduced them when they were in their early 20s.
An old photo of a bride on her wedding day
Natalie Baldwin on her wedding day. (Supplied: Bruce Baldwin)
He said he was drawn to Natalie's bubbly personality, describing her as "angelic".
"She'd do anything for anyone. She was warm-hearted," he said.
"She couldn't have been a better mother."
Ms Baldwin was 49 years old when she died in 2016, leaving behind her husband and their four children.
Mr Baldwin trained on his pushbike for six months before embarking on his trip that began last weekend.
He is supported by his second wife Janet, who is following him in a caravan with their two small dogs.
"[The trip] wouldn't be possible without her," Mr Baldwin said.
ABC Capricornia — local news in your inbox
Get our local newsletter, delivered free each Friday
Your information is being handled in accordance with the ABC Privacy Collection Statement.
Posted15m ago15 minutes agoThu 3 Apr 2025 at 12:33am
Copy link
X (formerly Twitter)