Aussie actor thanks generous Redcliffe venues

Published 8:00am 4 September 2023

Aussie actor Samuel Johnson visited The Komo last week to talk about his new Love Your Sister foundation initiative, Sam’s 1000.

Samuel spoke about the importance of Sam’s 1000, which is seeking support from 1000 businesses to help provide funding for precision medicine to help cancer patients.

He founded Love Your Sister in 2012 in honour of his sister, Connie, who died of cancer in 2017, to raise awareness and money for cancer research.

He’s been working with The Komo and the Belvedere Hotel owners Lewis Land Group for the past 10 years and says support from the hotels for Love Your Sister has played an important role in the charity’s success.

“I’m here to say thank you to The Komo, but I’m also here on behalf of the scientists and the researchers to explain exactly what precision medicine is and to make sure that this community knows about it, so that when cancer does enter your orbit, we give that cancer patient a much better chance,” Samuel says.

“I am Research Australia’s advocate of the year and that is my proudest honour.”

Samuel says precision medicine provides cancer patients with the right medication the first time, because in Connie’s case “on the fourth line of treatment, we found the right drugs, but it was too late by then”.

Spreading awareness

Before thanking his “heavyweight champions”, Samuel urged the crowd to spread awareness about precision medicine.

“If cancer enters your orbit at all, again or for the first time, can you please, please encourage whoever has that fresh diagnosis to speak to their oncologist about precision medicine; that’s all I ask.”

Samuel’s visit to the peninsula was particularly special, because his Love Your Sister foundation hit its $10 million mark at The Belvedere Hotel 10 years ago, thanks to Lewis Land Group Queensland regional manager Chris Allison.