Swimming for Her Mum: Melissa Takes on 700 Laps to Raise Awareness for Neuroendocrine Cancer

When Melissa’s mother, Kim Davidson, was admitted to hospital in 2025, no one expected the diagnosis that followed. A biopsy in ICU revealed an aggressive, rare neuroendocrine tumour — already too advanced to treat. Doctors gave Kim up to two months to live.

She died within a week.

“My life will never be the same,” Melissa has said of losing her mother. As a nurse, she understood the clinical realities of cancer. As a daughter, nothing could have prepared her for how quickly it all unfolded, or for the grief that followed.

Turning Grief Into Action

Neuroendocrine tumours (NETs) are notoriously difficult to detect. Symptoms are often vague or mistaken for other conditions, and by the time many patients are diagnosed, the disease has already progressed significantly — as it had for Kim. This is part of why awareness and early recognition matter so much.

Determined to make sure other families have a better chance than she did, Melissa is now swimming 700 laps — one for every kilometre of love she carries for her mother, all to raise funds for NeuroEndocrine Cancer Australia (NECA).

NECA supports people affected by NETs across the country, funding research, education for patients and clinicians, and support services for those navigating a diagnosis. Every dollar raised through Melissa’s swim goes toward helping more families get the information and support they need — hopefully sooner than Melissa’s did.

How You Can Help

Melissa’s fundraiser, Swim for Awareness into Rare Neuroendocrine Tumours, is live now. Every donation helps fund the research and support services that can change the outcome for the next family facing a NET diagnosis.