{"id":69704,"date":"2025-07-11T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-07-10T22:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hudson.org.au\/?post_type=hdsn_news_post&p=69704"},"modified":"2025-08-07T10:49:42","modified_gmt":"2025-08-07T00:49:42","slug":"old-dogs-walking-for-missing-mate-long-walk-home","status":"publish","type":"hdsn_news_post","link":"https:\/\/hudson.org.au\/news\/old-dogs-walking-for-missing-mate-long-walk-home\/","title":{"rendered":"Old Dogs walking for missing mate Cade"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It took strength, tenacity and resilience to win a place in the Western Bulldogs\u2019 forward line in the mid-1990s, but nothing Jason Watts experienced on the football field came close to what he\u2019s been through as a father, so he\u2019s making it his mission to save other families from the same pain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The father of three boys experienced every parent\u2019s worst fear when his middle son Cade was diagnosed with cancer, aged just 14, in 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Cade<\/a>
L-R: Jason Watts with his son Cade Watts<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Cade fought bravely, enduring endless rounds of chemotherapy, radiation and blood transfusions but could not overcome the cancer, which took his life a week short of his 16th<\/sup> birthday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jason wore the number 25 in 57 AFL games for the Dogs, topping the goalkicking in 1996, then in retirement from footy moved into coaching in the Frankston area, so he knows all about toughness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He also knows that there are limited treatment options for Ewing Sarcoma, the disease that took his son, so he\u2019s trying to do something about it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Along with former team-mates Jon Ballantyne, Ilija Grgic and a dedicated bunch of friends, Jason is raising funds for medical research in the hope that the next kid who finds himself in Cade\u2019s position will have a better chance of beating the disease. He has been raising funds since Cade passed away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe more I looked into sarcomas, the more I found that survival rates haven\u2019t improved in decades,\u201d Jason said. \u201cSo we\u2019re doing what we can to change that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Long Walk Home for sarcoma research<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re working with Hudson Institute of Medical Research, right here in Melbourne, who are world leaders in sarcoma research<\/a>. They\u2019re aiming to develop the next generation of sarcoma treatments, but that takes money, so we\u2019re hitting the road to raise funds for their research.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Long Walk Home<\/a> is a charity walk to be held on the AFL Grand Final Eve public holiday, covering 40km from St.Kilda pier to Frankston pier.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jason and his team are inviting anyone to join, with 40km, 20km, 10km and 5km options for the walk. For those who can\u2019t do the walking, there are opportunities to sponsor the walkers or give a donation outright.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s going to be a great event and we\u2019re aiming to make it an annual thing,\u201d Jason said. \u201cThis is the most common type of cancer in children and even for those who survive, the effects can be devastating, so we want to make a positive difference.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019d love to see as many footy fans as possible join us \u2013 it\u2019s a great way to get outdoors, experience our wonderful coastline, and do something positive for kids like Cade!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
Register or Donate to The Long Walk Home<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Cade Watts was only 15 when he died, but his family and friends are determined that his legacy will be large \u2013 with their fundraiser for sarcoma research; The Long Walk Home. …  Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":69705,"menu_order":0,"template":"","issue":[],"tag":[],"story-type":[88],"treatment-type":[],"class_list":["post-69704","hdsn_news_post","type-hdsn_news_post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","story-type-real-lives"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nOld Dogs walking for missing mate Cade - Hudson Institute of Medical Research<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Cade Watts was only 15 when he passed away, but his legacy will live on with this fundraiser for sarcoma research, The Long Walk Home.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/hudson.org.au\/news\/old-dogs-walking-for-missing-mate-long-walk-home\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Old Dogs walking for missing mate Cade\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Cade Watts was only 15 when he passed away, but his legacy will live on with this fundraiser for sarcoma research, The Long Walk Home.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/hudson.org.au\/news\/old-dogs-walking-for-missing-mate-long-walk-home\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Hudson Institute of Medical Research\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-08-07T00:49:42+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/hudson.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/cade-and-jason.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hudson.org.au\\\/news\\\/old-dogs-walking-for-missing-mate-long-walk-home\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hudson.org.au\\\/news\\\/old-dogs-walking-for-missing-mate-long-walk-home\\\/\",\"name\":\"Old Dogs walking for missing mate Cade - 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