Anya's Wish

Change the future for children and young people with sarcoma. Donate to Anya’s Wish.

Anya’s Wish is a world-leading research project at Children’s Cancer Institute that aims to find more effective and safer treatments for osteosarcoma, an aggressive bone cancer.

Anya’s Wish is named in memory of Anya Zuber, a vivacious and inspiring 19-year-old who passed away from osteosarcoma in 2020.

Osteosarcoma most commonly affects teenagers and young adults and often has a very poor prognosis. For those diagnosed with advanced osteosarcoma, or for those who relapse, only about one in five will survive.

We can and we must do better. That’s what Anya’s Wish is aiming to do.

While other teenage girls were going to school and catching up with their friends, Anya began treatment under Professor Stewart Kellie at The Cancer Centre for Children at Westmead Children’s Hospital. Over the next ten months, she would endure six rounds of chemotherapy and limb-saving surgery on her leg.

Her mum, Liz, was beside her through it all.

“They wanted to hit her hard with several rounds of chemotherapy first and then do the major operation on her left leg.”

Coming from Armidale, the diagnosis turned the family’s life upside down. Liz, her husband Will and Anya’s brother, Alexander, relocated to Sydney where they lived in an apartment at Ronald McDonald House on the grounds of the hospital, and Alexander attended a local school.

At the end of treatment in December 2015, Anya got the ‘all clear’ from her specialists and was able to return home. The family enjoyed a long-anticipated holiday at their favourite beach, followed by some rich family celebrations over Christmas in Armidale.

“It was so joyful; she’d done it! Then after we got home, Anya noticed some bruising down the back of her leg.”

Tests in January 2016 confirmed the family’s worst fears – the cancer was back. They returned to Sydney where Anya received a further six months of intensive chemotherapy and high-dose radiation, pushing the boundaries of what she could tolerate.

In August 2016, she was again given the ‘all clear’. Over the next few years, Anya took great delight in things that most teenagers take for granted: being at home, going to school, and seeing friends.

“I was so proud of Anya. She’d got through it yet again and had her future ahead of her. She got through high school, did her HSC and was planning to go to university.”

Anya’s struggle with osteosarcoma helped strengthen her mental and physical toughness, as she bravely faced treatment and worked hard on recovery. In November 2019, she expressed a wish to move from Westmead Children’s Hospital to an adult hospital. She transferred to the Chris O’Brien Lifehouse, where she continued regular observation under the watchful eyes of oncologist, Dr Vivek Bahdri, and highly regarded orthopaedic surgeon, Dr Richard Boyle, who had looked after Anya from day one.

A scan in May 2020 showed a reoccurrence of the cancer in her lungs. She underwent successful surgery in July, and again, the family looked towards a bright future as Anya and her boyfriend Ky made plans to move to Queensland for university.

However, on 30 August 2020, Anya discovered further symptoms. “She came down the stairs and said ‘There’s something wrong’”.

On 1 September, a scan showed masses in the right lung and the superior vena cava. Anya was rushed to Sydney the next day. She lost her brave battle on 12 September, surrounded by her loved ones.

Toward the end, Anya dreaded the prospect of further chemotherapy and wished for less invasive regimes like immunotherapy. She wished that her body, her experience with the disease, and any other resources be focused on the ongoing research to end childhood cancer, and particularly sarcomas. 

“She had just fought so hard for so long and she said ‘You’ve got to do something about this’. So that was the beginning of Anya’s Wish.”

Anya’s Wish is a dedicated osteosarcoma research program conducted by Children’s Cancer Institute. Led by Senior Scientist Dr Emmy Fleuren, it is focused on developing targeted therapies for children with osteosarcoma, which are not only effective at killing cancer cells, but are much less harsh than conventional chemotherapy, causing fewer side effects.

Anya’s Wish is entirely funded by the community, in particular by dedicated friends, businesses and supporters in her home town of Armidale.

In the future, plans are in place to maximise the chances of curing sarcoma by researching additional treatment approaches, such as immunotherapy and combination therapies, which it is hoped will mean stories like Anya’s become a thing of the past.

“Something’s really not right when you have to say goodbye to your child. Through this research and through the community, we can make a real impact, and it’s essential that we do.”