Jane Louise McGrath (née Steele; 4 May 1966 – 22 June 2008) was an England-born Australian cancer support campaigner, and the wife of former Australian cricket fast bowler Glenn McGrath.

Background

McGrath was born Jane Louise Steele on 4 May 1966 to Jen and Roy Steele, a now-retired newsagent in Paignton in the English county of

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devo ...

. She worked as a flight attendant for

Virgin Atlantic Virgin Atlantic, a trading name of Virgin Atlantic Airways Limited and Virgin Atlantic International Limited, is a British airline with its head office in Crawley, England. The airline was established in 1984 as British Atlantic Airways, and ...

when she met her future husband in a

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...

nightclub in 1995. They married in 1999 at the Garrison Church and had two children. She became an Australian citizen on

Australia Day Australia Day is the official national day of Australia. Observed annually on 26 January, it marks the 1788 landing of the First Fleet at Sydney Cove and raising of the Union Flag by Arthur Phillip following days of exploration of Port ...

, 26 January 2002. McGrath was made a

Member of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Order (distinction), honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarchy of Australia, Queen of Aus ...

(AM) on 26 January 2008 for service to community health through support for women with breast cancer and the establishment of the McGrath Foundation.

Cancer

McGrath first learned she had

breast cancer Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or a r ...

in 1997 at the age of 31. Following a

mastectomy Mastectomy is the medical term for the surgical removal of one or both breasts, partially or completely. A mastectomy is usually carried out to treat breast cancer. In some cases, women believed to be at high risk of breast cancer have the operat ...

chemotherapy Chemotherapy (often abbreviated to chemo and sometimes CTX or CTx) is a type of cancer treatment that uses one or more anti-cancer drugs ( chemotherapeutic agents or alkylating agents) as part of a standardized chemotherapy regimen. Chemothe ...

and radiotherapy, she was deemed cancer-free by June 1998. Despite fears that cancer treatment may have left her sterile, she later gave birth to two children who were both breast-fed. In 2003, McGrath was diagnosed with metastatic disease in her bones. In 2004, she appeared with her husband on Andrew Denton's ''

Enough Rope ''Enough Rope with Andrew Denton'' (often shortened to ''Enough Rope'') is a television interview show originally broadcast on ABC1 in Australia. The title of the show came from the phrase " give someone enough rope and they'll hang themselves ...

'' on the ABC, describing her work for the foundation and her personal experiences. In early 2006, brain metastasis was found and by May, she was undergoing radiation treatment at three-week intervals. The tumour was found and successfully removed. At the time, she lost her hair and became depressed, but again went into remission and continued her work with the foundation. She became severely ill in mid-June 2008 and died on the morning of 22 June at her

Cronulla Cronulla is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Boasting numerous surf beaches and swimming spots, the suburb attracts both tourists and Greater Sydney residents. Cronulla is located 26 kilometres south of the Sydne ...

home; she was 42. McGrath's funeral was held at the Garrison Church.

McGrath Foundation

In 2005, Glenn and Jane McGrath founded the McGrath Foundation, a charitable organisation dedicated to raising money to fund breast care nurses in rural and regional Australia, and to increase breast awareness in young women. As of May 2022, 177 McGrath breast care nurses have been placed in communities throughout Australia, supporting over 67,000 Australian families experiencing breast cancer. The third day of the first Sydney Test cricket match at the Sydney Cricket Ground each year is now known as Jane McGrath Day, where money is raised for the McGrath Foundation. Spectators at the SCG wear pink to show their support, and sponsor logos in various places are also recoloured pink for the match. The Ladies Stand is also temporarily renamed The Jane McGrath Stand for the day. On 5 January 2013, Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard announced an $18.5 million donation to the McGrath Foundation from the Australian Government. The funding allowed all 44 existing McGrath breast care nurse positions to continue and expand the program by 10 full-time equivalent places.

References

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External links

The McGrath Foundation
{{DEFAULTSORT:McGrath, Jane 1966 births 2008 deaths English emigrants to Australia Deaths from cancer in New South Wales Deaths from breast cancer Naturalised citizens of Australia Flight attendants Members of the Order of Australia People from Paignton People from Sydney