AJ Stewart-Vibart and Maree Braybrooke donning their bright swimming caps. Photo: Maree Braybrooke.
A goal to fundraise a few hundred dollars for cancer turned into $11,510 when an Esperance woman became a local social media sensation for her Cancer Council Daffodil Day dips.
Sporting a flowery yellow swimming cap, Tracy Minchin videoed herself braving the icy Esperance ocean every day in August.
She said she initially invited friends to go with her and said after her first Facebook reel, others wanted to join the cause too.
“I had some people contacting me saying ‘I saw your video, I’ve got a story to tell about how cancer has affected my life, and I thought ‘oh I’d love to see you’ and it just sort of snowballed from there and went viral,” Ms Minchin said.
“So many people have been impacted by cancer, so I just videoed the person beside me.”
She said she dipped at beaches around Esperance and heard some touching stories.
“I had a couple and the woman said it’s brought her to life – having a diagnosis has made her value each day and not sweat about the small stuff,” she said.
“In that dip we really focussed on the fact it’s a team effort when you’re in the cancer battle – it’s not just the person fighting, it’s the whole community that surrounds them…”
The Cancer Council’s Daffodil Day raises money for vital cancer research and treatments.
Ms Minchin said she was inspired to participate after she read the statistics on the Cancer Council website.
It states one in two Australians will be diagnosed with cancer by 85 and says the disease is the leading cause of death in the country.
“You can have the healthiest person, you can have a child… it just doesn’t discriminate, and I felt a bit helpless as to what I could do so it’s always a good cause,” Ms Minchin said.
“I really thought I’d get behind Daffodil Day because it’s research for all forms of cancer.”
Ms Minchin was not the only Esperance local turning heads with a dazzling swimming cap in August.
Esperance’s Maree Braybrooke dipped in the ocean 23 times and raised $3,424 for the cause.
Ms Braybrooke said she dedicated her swims to people in her life that she’d lost to cancer.
“My second dip I dedicated to my mum, then I did my dad, then my father-in-law and my sister-in-law and I went through people that are important to me,” Ms Braybrooke said.
“I’ve lost a lot of family members and good friends.”
She posted photos of her swims to Facebook and like Ms Minchin, she garnered a bit of a following.
“I had people who would ring me and say ‘can I dip with you? I want to dedicate it to my mum or something like that’,” she said.
“On my last day I had so many people that wanted to dip with me so I said anyone who wants to come can join.
“I had 23 people jump in the water with me and I know they’re people that would only swim on a hot summer’s day, if that.
