Dare to Hope game 2025: Cherie Dear and Karen Turner raising awareness about pancreatic cancer

Cherie Dear and Karen Turner have been bonded by the tragedy of losing their husbands to pancreatic cancer. But now, they’re driven to do something about it.

Through tragedy, Cherie Dear and Karen Turner have formed a strong bond. Picture: Michael Klein

Cherie Dear and Karen Turner have formed an unbreakable bond out of their own family tragedies but it’s only made them more determined in their fight against pancreatic cancer.

The pair lost their husbands, footy greats Paul Dear and Michael Turner, to the disease and are desperately trying to raise funds for research in the hope of finding a cure for one of the most under-resourced and deadliest cancers.

Help raise money for research and honour those we’ve lost to Pancreatic Cancer by making a donation. Visit: daretohope.com.au

They will join forces again for the fourth Dare To Hope match when Hawthorn takes on Geelong in the Easter Monday MCG clash on April 21.

“Karen and I married two straight-talking, courageous men and they chose women who won’t be quiet when it comes to raising awareness and funding to fight this aggressive and horrible cancer,” Cherie Dear said.

“Knowing what we know now, we can’t stay quiet. We don’t want to talk in euphemisms. This is an ugly cancer with terrible outcomes. We have to do something about it.”

Cherie said Dare To Hope was “an independent charity … We are 100 per cent volunteer-led so we can maximise every donation.”

Cherie Dear, widow of Paul Dear, and her son Calsher Dear and Karen Turner, widow of Michael Turner Picture: Michael Klein

“There is no early detection test, there is no screening test. It has a really low awareness … it (pancreatic cancer) has an identity crisis, and we are about to change that.”

This time last year Michael Turner – a Cats’ team of the century member – was helping to promote the Dare To Hope game, saying he had been “one of the lucky ones” in having the rare Whipple Procedure surgery to fight his illness.

Sadly, Turner died last December, aged 70, only 23 months after being diagnosed.

Dear was 55, when he died from pancreatic cancer in 2022, with his fight being the catalyst of an extraordinary documentary, which led to the inaugural Dare To Hope game.

Karen Turner said she owed it to Michael and other families to start making more noise.

“Because of the high death rate, the people are not here to tell their stories,” she said.

“Their voices are gone. It is not that they are forgotten; it is that they are gone.”

Michael and Karen Turner.

Paul and Cherie Dear in 2021.

Almost 4000 people die from pancreatic cancer every year – significantly more than from breast cancer, melanoma, road trauma and MND.

Survival rates have barely changed in 40 years, with the five-year rate at 13 per cent, compared to breast cancer, prostate and melanoma in the mid 90s.

The research funding is manifestly inadequate when measured against other cancers.

“The only way to find a cure is to get the funds to back the research,” Karen said.”That just isn’t happening now.

“Michael had no fear of dying. From day one, his motivation was to be there for our boys (Levi and Che) and our grandchildren.”

In the days before he died, the AFL bestowed life membership on Turner, who played 245 games from 1974 to 1988 before becoming a legendary Geelong Falcons talent scout who fostered the careers of 134 AFL and AFLW players, including Patrick Dangerfield, Gary Ablett Jr., Luke Hodge, Cameron Ling and Matthew Scarlett.

“Michael had the Whipple operation (a complex surgery to remove tumours which is only available to a small number of patients),” Karen said.

“It has an 80 per cent chance, even with the Whipple, of coming back within two years. His (cancer) came back with a vengeance.”

Originally published as Dare to Hope game 2025: Cherie Dear and Karen Turner raising awareness about pancreatic cancer