Sam Mac has revealed that his beloved uncle is suffering from Motor Neurone Disease (MND).
The Sunrise host was in Heidelberg, Melbourne, for the start of Daniher’s Drive, a cause that’s raising vital funds and awareness for MND research.
The TV host praised the Daniher’s Drive organisers including the director of cure research and programs at FightMND, Bec Sheean, before opening up about his own connection to the illness.
“I’m pretty sure everyone here is somehow touched by MND,” an emotional Mac began.
“My uncle has MND, I lost a friend in South Australia to MND, so many people are connected to it.”
The disease affects motor neurons, the cells responsible for controlling voluntary muscles, and as it progresses, it creates increasing disability and can be fatal.
“I think MND can be really isolating when you get that diagnosis because there are no effective treatments, it can feel like there is nothing you can do,” Sheean told the Sunrise host.
“But what you can do is get out there and raise funds. This research is really important.
“At FightMND, we have a focus on understanding the disease and finding effective treatments and getting the treatments into clinical trials for Australians.
“Ten years ago, if you are diagnosed in Australia there were no clinical trials available. Now, there’s these opportunities to be in a trial or participate in research to solve this problem.”
She then praised the amount of progress that has been made so far, thanks to “the support of these amazing fundraisers and the Australian public getting behind the cause.”
“There’s so much we don’t know about MND, it’s a complex disease but research is progressing faster ever.”
