Next month I will travel to Malaysia with my partner to visit his grandmother who has just been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

She has been given three months to live and the 4000km distance means this will most likely be the last trip we make while she is still alive.

Getting there and spending time with her will be easy, but saying goodbye will be the hardest thing we ever do.

It's a sad truth but at some stage in our lives we will all be touched by cancer in some way.

Whether we experience it ourselves or see a loved one suffer with the disease it's never an easy task.

And being so far away from someone you love can make it even harder, especially when they're so sick.

It doesn't matter if they live overseas, interstate or on the other side of Sydney, you want to be as close as possible to look after them and spend time with them when they need you most.

That's why we are so lucky to have state of the art cancer treatment centres in Macarthur. The Macarthur Cancer Therapy Centre at Campbelltown Hospital, the Palliative Care Unit at Camden Hospital and the Pediatric Ambulatory Care Service give our cancer patients the best treatment available close to home.

This weekend I will walk around Campbelltown Athletics Stadium in Leumeah to raise money for these facilities at the 24-Hour Fight Against Cancer Macarthur.

It's not too late to sign up or donate money and everything raised stays right here in our area.

I don't think we realise how lucky we are to have these treatment facilities so close to home until we find ourselves travelling miles away to be near a sick loved one.

I hope everyone in Wollondilly who is free this weekend will drop into the athletics stadium to walk a lap, donate money and support this cause.

Because nobody should ever have to fight cancer far from home and nobody should have to leave a loved one behind when they say goodbye for the last time.