Three years and counting: Exceptional care giving Lyndon more time with his family
Lyndon Beard didn’t think he’d see another year. But his life has been prolonged by three years thanks to the dedicated professionals at the Flinders Centre for Innovation in Cancer.
At just 46 years old, father of two Lyndon Beard received devastating news: he had bowel cancer. Surgery brought a glimmer of hope. But within a year, that hope began to slip away.
“It came back. First my liver. Then my lungs. Treatment worked – until it didn’t,” Beard said.
“We were running out of options. I started to prepare myself, and my family, for the worst.”
But just as it seemed there was nothing left to try, the phone rang.
A clinical trial was recruiting patients at the Flinders Centre for Innovation in Cancer – South Australia’s first integrated cancer centre, opened in 2012 by Flinders Foundation.
The trial offered a promising new targeted therapy.
It was not a cure, but it offered something Beard had not had in a long time – hope.
Based thousands of kilometres away from Adelaide, just outside of Hobart, Beard knew he had to continue his cancer journey far from home.
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“That call was a lifeline,” he said. “I didn’t know if I had the strength to fight again – especially so far from home – but I knew I had to try.”
“I packed my bags and flew to Adelaide.”
Without hesitation, Beard left his home and family behind to begin treatment at Flinders.
That was more than three years ago.
Since then, Beard has been flying to Adelaide every three weeks for infusions, each visit a step further down a road he once thought had ended.
“I’ve been given three more years with my wife. Three more years watching my kids grow up. Three years I never expected to have,” he said.
“That’s not just medicine – that’s a miracle.”
But Beard’s survival is not luck. It is the result of world-class care, determined researchers and a community that makes it all possible.
Donate today to help fund more life-changing research and care for families like Lyndon’s.
What Beard discovered at Flinders was more than medical expertise: it was unwavering compassion, personalised care and a team who refused to give up on him.
“From the moment I walked through the doors at Flinders, I felt safe,” Beard said.
“Like I wasn’t just another patient – I was a person they believed in.”
That belief is backed by Flinders Foundation, the not-for-profit organisation helping to ensure that exceptional care is available for every person, at every stage of life.
Many South Australians know of Flinders Medical Centre – but fewer know about the Flinders Foundation, the vital link that connects donor generosity to the researchers, clinicians and patients who rely on it.
By funding medical research, equipment and patient care, Flinders Foundation enables the discoveries happening in laboratories to reach people like Lyndon Beard at the bedside.
Whether it is cancer treatment, neonatal care, aged care or mental health, the Foundation ensures that exceptional care is not reserved for a few – it is delivered without exceptions.
Make a tax-deductible donation today and help give someone else more time, more memories, more hope.
Beard’s journey is one of strength, resilience and the extraordinary power of community-backed care. But he is not alone.
Across southern Adelaide and beyond, thousands of people each year rely on services supported by Flinders Foundation – newborns in intensive care, families facing chronic illness, patients in palliative care.
This tax time, you can be part of the story that gives someone else a lifeline. Someone else a second chance.
“Every extra moment with my family is a gift,” Beard said.
“And that’s what Flinders has given me – more time with the people I love.”
