Antonio B – Decembeard

“I started raising funds for Bowel Cancer Australia in December 2013, after the passing of one of my best mates from bowel cancer in July of that year.

Initially, me and ‘the boys’ – those who were close with Deano – participated in Decembeard. Our team, ‘Deano’s Bearded Stallions raised funds for a number of years in his memory – raising tens of thousands of dollars through the charity’s Decembeard campaign.

Over the years, as life has gotten busier for everyone – the enthusiasm of the boys has dropped off. Slowly I took it upon myself to be the one who carries the flame in memory of Deano.

I think my work in Pathology, and my wife’s work for the National Bowel Screening program has kept the cause fresh for us.

After a few Decembeard campaigns – I elected to keep the beard year-round & subsequently found that people were less willing to sponsor me to grow a beard when I always have a beard… So I had to find a more effective way to raise funds for BCA than through Decembeard alone.

I had a thought, and decided that good food was the way to people’s hearts. My Nonna’s lasagne recipe has been passed down to me and IMO is the best food in the world… So I made the decision to cook my Nonna’s lasagne for my co-workers & sell the slices of lasagne to raise funds – with all profit going to Bowel Cancer Australia.

The first year, 2016 – I sold around 40 slices and raised a few hundred dollars. In 2017, I raised maybe over a thousand dollars, cooking-to-order at home & bringing the slices in to work. At one stage, I had the oven in my unit, my neighbours unit, and the upstairs neighbour’s unit all going at one time, trying to fill the demand created by these lasagne sales!

Word spread quickly around the workplace, and before long I was granted permission to cook in the commercial kitchen at work… And what started as 40 slices that first year, morphed into a whole weekend-long cooking adventure – producing over 300 serves of beef lasagne and spinach & ricotta lasagne to satisfy the cravings of my coworkers. Safe to say, the word is definitely out and the lasagne has legendary status in the corridors of our Lab now… At 89 years of age, Nonna even stopped-by during last year’s cook, and couldn’t believe the scale at which I was producing her lasagne recipe – I think it blew her mind a bit. However, upon inspection of the finished product, she gave her wholehearted blessing.

I am regularly stopped in the corridor and asked ‘When I’ll be doing the lasagne day again’ and always use it as an opportunity to tell Deano’s story and raise awareness that you’re never too young to keep an eye on your body’s cues and any weird symptoms. I encourage people that I speak to that you’re Never Too Young & that an awkward conversation with your GP could save yourself a tragic conversation with your family later and not to simply accept the first diagnosis if strange or alarming symptoms persist!

Since Deano passed in 2013, I have lost or had close friends who have lost – a number of loved-ones under 40 years old to this insidious disease. Getting the word out and getting people paying attention to their body is something that I feel so passionate about, given how treatable bowel cancer is with early-detection.

In June this year, we raised over $3000 for Bowel Cancer Australia through the Lasagne-drive at work and and we’ll be looking to go even bigger and better in 2026 in memory of Deano! I would like to thank my Wife for all her support throughout my weekends of cooking – she is often my 2IC, assisting in the kitchen, or home looking after a spirited-toddler alone and many thanks to my co-workers who have become an incredible support for this worthwhile cause!

Looking forward to feeding them all next year!” ~ Antonio.

If you were inspired by Antonio’s awareness and fundraising efforts and would like to support Bowel Cancer Australia through your own community fundraiser or help make real change during Decembeard, please get in touch with us through our webform.