“It is such a horrible disease that if making a fool of myself is what it takes to help, then I’m happy to do that.”
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And Mark Blackman does know what he’s talking about.
“My mum passed away of cancer when I was 15, so it’s always something that’s been close to me,” he said.
“Just seeing how it affected not only myself, but my siblings at such a young age, also seeing my dad and all our surrounding family as well.”
As for the fool-making part, the Albury-Wodonga television journalist will hit the dance floor on Friday as part of the Stars of the Border Dance for Cancer gala night.
The Cancer Council NSW fundraiser at Albury Entertainment Centre brings 13 Border identities together in a contest of both dancing and fundraising.
Mr Blackman has been learning some cha-cha and jives for the Latin medley he’ll present with his dance teacher Megan Reid Tonkin.
“Early on in the process, I was definitely getting quite confused, doing some of the moves from one dance and mixing them up with some of the moves from the other style,” he said.
“Most of the moves are down pat, but then it’s all about the technical aspects now.
“I certainly still look a little bit uncoordinated.”
He thanked his teacher and all at Albury-Wodonga Dance Centre “for trying their hardest to turn me into a dancer”.
“I’m sure on the night itself, the nerves are going to kick in but I’ve just had so much fun in the lead-up to it,” he said.
In some ways the fundraising aspect, aiming for a $3000 target, has been even more challenging.
Mr Blackman is selling tickets through his online fundraising page for two raffles, one offering a double pass to Winton Raceway, the other for a signed Richmond football guernsey.
“I’ve been telling people that, look, even if you’re not a Tigers fan, feel free to burn it,” the North Melbourne supporter said.
A little bit of colleague pressure, perhaps, sent him into Stars of the Border, but he was willing to do it.
While his own experience of cancer did influence him, “at the same time everyone has a personal story”.
Mr Blackman said sticking close together helped his family during his mother’s battle with bowel cancer.
“Mum was always making sure and Dad was always making sure that everything was, I guess, almost as normal as it could be,” he said.
Mr Blackman, his parents and three siblings lived at Baranduda at the time.
“(Cancer) was always there, but Mum was always putting on a brave face and always making sure that it wasn’t affecting us in any way,” he said.
“She was always strong enough to tell us to do our homework.”
