Trading birthday presents for $25,000: The Canberra woman marking a milestone with a major donation to brain cancer research

Posted on 13 August, 2026

While most people celebrate their 35^th birthday with a night out with friends, Danielle Buecher is doing something a little bit different – raising funds for brain cancer.

It’s a cause incredibly close to her heart. Planning to cut off her 60 cm-long brown hair next Tuesday, Danii has already raised over $25,000 for the Australian Brain Cancer Foundation, a Canberra-based organisation doing vital work in brain cancer research.

She wants to offer hope to families facing the overwhelming journey of a brain cancer diagnosis – something her husband, Daniel, experienced in 2021.

“I’m speaking as a carer, not as someone who’s personally experienced it. But from what I’ve witnessed and what I’ve seen in my husband, all cancer diagnoses are very cruel and very unfair, but I do think brain cancer is another beast,” Danii says.

“You are never the same person again. You’re forever changed, and I’m not necessarily saying that in a bad way, but you just don’t live your life the same way ever again.”

Daniel with his son.

“I thought he was going to die”: A life-changing diagnosis

Danii and Daniel were newly married and pregnant with their first child in 2021 when Daniel started to feel unwell. He began to experience heart palpitations, pins and needles in his arms and legs, and a vague, unsettling sense that something wasn’t right. It wasn’t until a GP suggested a brain and spine MRI that the couple finally started to get answers.

The scan revealed a tiny shadow on Daniel’s brain, and while it was played down as “probably nothing,” he was referred to a neurosurgeon just in case.

Meanwhile, life moved forward. Their son was born, they sold their house and juggled the ups and downs of early parenthood. They were also eventually told that Daniel had a glioma – no further detail, just a name and a recommendation to wait three months to see if it grew.

Daniel went back to work; Danii went home and opened her laptop.

“I started Googling,” she says, “And I thought, ‘Oh my god, he is going to die.’ I was absolutely rocked.”

Overcoming isolation through community and action

Post brain surgery.

Daniel ended up undergoing an awake craniotomy to remove his tumour, which was later identified as a grade 2 oligodendroglioma.

Danii admits that following Daniel’s diagnosis and surgery, she was an emotional wreck. She was still breastfeeding their young baby and says it was her son who helped her get through one of the toughest chapters of their lives.

“At that time, there was no real support in Canberra. We were very much left in the dark, and I think that was a huge part of why I struggled because I just had no knowledge,” she says.

“I was left to my own devices, and I think particularly for Daniel – having no one – it was a very isolating experience…I struggled a lot, and I think he took on a little bit of guilt around what was happening.”

Danii is partnering with the Australian Brain Cancer Foundation for her shave, and says she wishes they were around when Daniel was first undergoing his diagnosis and treatment. Committed to empowering, educating, and ultimately positioning the ACT as a global centre for Primary Brain Cancer research and care, it’s the first not-for-profit created by Canberrans, for Canberrans, in this field.

“It’s nice to know that there’s a little support network that’s coming together in Canberra, and so I reached out to the charity,” explains Danii.

“For a number of years, I had been saying I want to do something to raise some money for this cause. I didn’t know what direction it would take.”

Attending an Australian Brain Cancer Foundation support group earlier this year was a cathartic moment for Danii. Talking to other people and hearing their stories made her feel instantly less alone and want to do something to give back to the charity.

“They’re doing such amazing things for people here in Canberra. It is becoming more common these days to hear of people suffering from brain cancer. I just felt really passionately about the fact that I just didn’t want people to feel isolated while they were going through that,” she says.

“I just thought to myself, ‘Why not pay something forward?’ I wanted to feel like I was giving back.”

@the.photo.mumma

Setting herself the goal of raising $25,000, Danii has already exceeded it. She is still accepting donations and says that people are also welcome to attend the shave at the John Curtin School of Medical Research to show their support.

Four years on, Daniel remains tumour-free and continues to attend six-monthly scans. Walking alongside him through diagnosis, surgery, and recovery, Danii wants to share one message about brain cancer: it’s cruel, but there is something you can do to help.

“We are very lucky that we live a very normal life, but for a lot of people, the decline is fast, and it’s a hard way for other people to watch someone go,” she says.

“Rally around this charity in any way you can.”

Feature image:@the.photo.mumma