Keshia Arbour

Walking for Nanna: Why the 2025 Mother’s Day Classic Matters to Me

In less than a week, I’ll be walking alongside my mum and my toddler in the 2025 Mother’s Day Classic. Three generations, walking for one extraordinary woman—my grandmother, Zarkoon.

Together, we’ve raised over $2,000 for ovarian cancer research. I know I’ve been a little persistent in recent weeks (thank you for your patience!), but I’ve been sharing why this cause is so personal.

Today, I want to tell you about the woman we’re walking for.

Zarkoon—my Nanna—was a force. She raised her younger siblings after losing her mother at age 9. She went on to have six children of her own, spoke multiple languages fluently, and lived in countries around the world including Zambia, the U.S., and Australia. She threw incredible parties, baked the most memorable birthday cakes, and was the heart of our family.

She was also my last living link to our Malay heritage. I never got to learn our language or culture directly from her, and I often wonder what stories she could have told me—about who she was beyond the roles of wife, mother, and grandmother.

She was diagnosed with Stage 4 ovarian cancer in 2000, after years of unexplained symptoms. Like so many others, her diagnosis came too late. And while she lived longer than doctors predicted, when she left us, she left a hole that can never be filled.

Being a female descendant of someone lost to ovarian cancer brings its own quiet fear. There’s no early detection test yet. So we stay alert to every symptom, every twinge—because we don’t know which one could change everything.

That’s why we walk. For research. For early detection. For women like my Nanna. And for all the families who love and remember them.

If you’d still like to support our team, donations are open—and every dollar goes toward life-saving research.

Thank you for being part of this.

We've reached $1,000!!!

Support Keshia and Jean-Paul's Efforts in the 2025 Mother's Day Classic

On Sunday 11 May, I'm putting my foot down to save lives.

We (Keshia and Jean-Paul) are joining the Mother’s Day Classic to help raise funds and awareness to fight ovarian cancer. 

We are raising funds in memory of our Nanna and Great-Grandmother Zarkoon, who was taken far too young by ovarian cancer. We miss her every day. 

Tragically, around 1,815 Australians are diagnosed with ovarian cancer each year, and approximately 1,000 lives are lost to ovarian cancer annually in Australia.

There is no early detection test for ovarian cancer, and although a small number of cases are associated with a genetic predisposition, the cause of most cases remain unknown.

I’m asking you to do more than just stand with me but to support me as I walk, run, and move till we’re done.

Please make a donation today to support our challenge, we greatly appreciate your generosity. 

Thank you for your support.