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Dubbo 15-year-old, Molly Croft is determined to use her own experience of cancer to be a voice for those whose lives have been impacted by osteosarcoma and disability. She is one of eight inspiring young Australians to be awarded a Redkite and Coles Dare to Dream Scholarship.

When Molly was diagnosed with bone cancer at the age of 12, sport was her life and she played representative netball, basketball and hockey. After losing most of the bone in her right leg to cancer, she was unable to play sport at the same level and now coaches instead. The incredibly positive teen is now determined to start her own podcast to help others with a disability.

“My diagnosis, the treatment and operations that have since followed changed who I was forever. I was no longer that sporty girl. But you know what? I am one of the lucky ones, I am still here, and I will forever be grateful for that,” she said.

The Redkite and Coles Dare to Dream Scholarship was established to inspire young people whose physical or mental health has been affected by cancer, to achieve their goals and ambitions. This scholarship, funded by Coles, helps young people build their future and can be put towards education or life goals.

Molly has already become a powerful young advocate for osteosarcoma awareness and funding and has raised more than $200,000 for charity.

“It is my passion to be a voice for those who aren’t able to use their own, for those who are still fighting and those not yet diagnosed. I want to continue to raise awareness and start my own podcast where people can call in and I can chat to them about how their disability and diagnosis has changed them.

“Sure some days are tough, some days are tougher. I now live with a disability – an internal prosthetic leg – and can’t do lots of what I use to, but I prefer to look for the rainbow in each day,” she said.

Karen Granger was Molly’s representative netball manager before her diagnosis and, even then, she knew she was an amazing girl.

“The way she handled being told she not only had high grade metastasised cancer, but that she was also never going to be able to play her beloved basketball and netball ever again, showed us what courage and strength really was.”

She believes this scholarship will absolutely help make Molly’s dream come true.

“Molly’s dream of recording her own podcast is something that has been in the pipeline for a while. She believes it will connect children and young adults who have cancer in a way never previously done. And if Molly says she can do it, then I am 100 per cent sure she will,” she said.

Since 2013, Redkite and Coles have awarded more than $650,000 in Dare to Dream Scholarships to support young Australians whose aspirations and goals have been impacted by their cancer diagnosis.