Camilla and Marc’s early detection bid to prevent the cancer that took their mum
Sibling design duo Camilla and Marc are funding research into an early detection test to prevent the cancer that took their mum.
Wentworth Courier
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More than 27 years have passed since she lost her mum but Camilla Freeman-Topper still remembers some of the last conversations they shared.
Pamela Freeman had been diagnosed with ovarian cancer two years earlier and while she’d fought hard to beat the disease — including moving to the US for a year to trial a new treatment — when the end came all she wanted was to be with her two children.
“I have a really beautiful memory of sitting on her bed towards the end and having conversations with her that made me feel very full,” recalls the creative director of fashion label Camilla and Marc. “I think she just really wanted to be present in that moment.”
With her own two daughters now around the same age as she was when she lost her mum, Camilla is reminded of those poignant years of being on the brink of an exciting adolescence yet having the centre of her world fall apart.
“It was a pretty horrible time,” she recalls quietly. “She went from one day being fit and healthy to the next day being wheeled into surgery and, thereafter, treatment. I was nine and a lot of the early memories of her are pretty cloudy, largely due to what happens with trauma and shock. Somehow your mind protects you from that.”
However blurry her memories of that time, Camilla and her brother Marc, who started their label together 18 years ago, are sharply aware of the impact of losing their mother when aged 11 and 13 respectively. It’s the reason they’re campaigning for an early detection test for the heartbreaking disease.
Launching a unisex collection of T-shirts and hoodies as part of their “Ovaries. Talk About Them” campaign they’re hopeful they can prevent other children from having to endure the sadness and loss that underpinned their childhood.
While both believe their closeness as siblings, and later colleagues, was cemented in those painful years, they are determined to support the researchers who could, ultimately, save others from having their families decimated by a disease which claims the lives of three Australian women every day. The survival rate for the disease is only 46 per cent because ovarian cancer is often found at an advanced stage.
As Marc, CEO of the brand, explains: “We connected with Professor Caroline Ford at the Ovarian Cancer Research Group who had done some amazing research. Their quest for an early detection blood test really aligned with our thoughts on how we might want to impact other women and their families.”
As part of their five-year mission, the pair has raised $225,000, enabling the research group to employ two female scientists to focus solely on developing the test. While ovarian cancer is a woman’s disease the pair wanted to bring men into the conversation because it affects husbands, fathers and sons. A new dad himself following the birth of his first child 15 months ago, Marc explains that 100 per cent of the proceeds of the clothing range will go towards the research in the hope a test can be developed within five years.
As Camilla points out: “A lot of the reason that we believe there is not a lot of awareness around this particular cancer is because the survival rate is so low there aren’t many people to tell stories. There is still no early diagnosis for ovarian cancer almost 30 years after my mother’s death, largely due to a lack of awareness and funding which is just so hard to believe. We all want to be preventive and get checked but there’s currently no way to do this.”
The intensely private siblings, who both live in Bellevue Hill, have rarely spoken of their mother’s death but their determination to make a difference, combined with greater openness around both physical and mental suffering, has prompted them to be more candid about their experience. Indeed, while the limited-edition T-shirts and hoodies, in black, white and sand, are bold and purposeful, they’re also a tangible honouring of their mother and her own dedication to helping others.
As the pair explain, their mum was a kindergarten teacher who loved sewing, tapestry and gardening but, more than anything, caring for those in the community. Says Camilla: “She was an amazing wife to our father, a very loyal friend and an amazing advocate for women. Marc and I often get stopped in the street by perfect strangers who introduce themselves and tell us about a memory they have of our mum. She was a really, really wonderful woman.”
While Pamela Freeman did not survive long enough to see her children’s extraordinary success — including having their designs worn by both royalty and celebrities — she instilled strong values and a tremendous sense of family.
As Marc, 41, reflects: “We didn’t necessarily have that much time with our mother but in the years we did have she imparted strong morals and ethics and she loved us dearly so we both still feel very lucky. I think she was probably very sad towards the end because she was going to miss out on our lives and us growing up.”
Now aged 39, the age her mother was when she first became ill, Camilla struggles to comprehend what her mother must have gone through knowing she would not see her children grow up. She recalls as a child being upset at seeing her mother lose her hair and become sick and pale, but she also remembers her courage and the fact she never complained.
Having spent considerably more time with her own children, Leudi, 12, Missy, 11, and Wolfie, six, through the pandemic, she’s not only enjoyed the closeness but recognised her mother in herself. “I enjoyed nourishing them and making them feel calm and I would regularly catch myself after I’d had a conversation with one of them, thinking: ‘Oh that’s exactly what my mum would have done’.”
Marc, who typically joins his sister for their monthly overseas work trips, felt similarly. “My son Franklin was just four months old when we went into lockdown so I’ve felt very fortunate to have spent so much time with him.”
If there’s one silver lining to losing their mother so young it’s the strength of their sibling bond. Warm yet wry, they finish each other’s sentences, live around the corner from each other and holiday together with their children who, they hope, will forge the same closeness as cousins. Says Camilla: “Losing our mother definitely brought us closer as brother and sister. We stuck together through our teens though it annoyed the crap out of him that I dated all his friends.” Marc disagrees: “It didn’t annoy me. We are close in age and Camilla always liked to hang out with people doing great things and people older than her.”
Neither take their successful working partnership for granted and are full of gratitude for both their loyal customers and the manner in which Australia has handled the pandemic. While other fashion designers struggled with the global disruption to their industry, Camilla and Marc were well placed to cope with the change in demand during lockdown. They launched their athleisure line just weeks before the pandemic took hold and a new website meant customers had ease of access to their designs even if their trademark tailoring was a little less necessary for a time. While Camilla says she’s not sure if it was “luck or good forecasting”, Marc is proud they’ve maintained their team of 120 staff and appreciates the loyalty of customers who are actively supporting Australian businesses.
They’re hoping they’ll be equally loyal in buying the T-shirts and hoodies which will allow the scientists to continue working on the early detection test. As Prof Ford, who is heading the team at UNSW, points out: “The funds from the campaign have significantly progressed the development of our early detection test. This funding has meant an increased focus and our outlook is extremely positive.”
While their mother never lived to see their success, Camilla believes she is looking down on them. As Marc adds: “I hope she would be proud of us.”
*The 2021 “Ovaries: Talk About Them” T-shirts and hoodies are available from Camilla and Marc boutiques nationwide and online at camillaandmarc.com.
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