Chloe Asselstine, Law’27, Chair of Ambassadors for Brain Cancer Canada, shares her experience following her mother’s diagnosis before introducing special guest speaker, Dr. Jamie Purzner, Neurosurgeon-Scientist at Kingston Health Sciences Centre and Queen’s University.
Chloe Asselstine, Law’27, Chair of Ambassadors for Brain Cancer Canada, shares her experience following her mother’s diagnosis before introducing special guest speaker, Dr. Jamie Purzner, Neurosurgeon-Scientist at Kingston Health Sciences Centre and Queen’s University.
Students, faculty, and practitioners in the law and medicine communities bid on items and experiences with Queen’s Law professors in a silent auction.
Students, faculty, and practitioners in the law and medicine communities bid on items and experiences with Queen’s Law professors in a silent auction.
The Queen’s Pom dance team was among the many performers who took the stage at Cabaret for a Cure. 
The Queen’s Pom dance team was among the many performers who took the stage at Cabaret for a Cure. 

When Chloe Asselstine, Law’27, joined Brain Cancer Canada after her mother was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumour in 2020, and Penelope Sairoglou, Law’28, became involved with the organization shortly thereafter, neither could have anticipated that they would one day continue their advocacy at Queen’s Law. As co-presidents of the Queen’s Law Cancer Society during the 2025–26 academic year, they would go on to revive a cherished Queen’s Law tradition that had been dormant for five years and inspire more than 400 people to rally behind cancer research and patient support.

“Organizing Cabaret for a Cure was deeply meaningful to me because it was shaped by my personal experience with my mom’s stage four brain cancer diagnosis, glioblastoma,” says Asselstine. “During that time, I saw how often patients are defined by their illness, rather than seen as whole people with lives, identities, and stories that extend far beyond their diagnosis.”  

As planning for the event got underway, she discovered that many of her fellow students had their own personal connections to cancer. Those conversations reinforced the sense of community behind the initiative and its purpose. “It was a powerful reminder of the shared humanity that connects us beyond the law,” she says. “I wanted the night to feel hopeful, human, and truly patient-centric.”  

For Asselstine, the event was about more than fundraising. It was an opportunity to celebrate resilience, joy, and community while ensuring patients and families felt seen beyond their illness. “To me, philanthropy like this is important because it transforms personal hardship into collective action,” she explains. “It turns empathy into tangible impact and shows that even in the face of something as difficult as a diagnosis, there is still room for hope, especially when it is shared.”

Reviving one of Queen’s Law’s largest student-run traditions was no small task. Inactive since the middle of the pandemic, Cabaret for a Cure required the Queen’s Law Cancer Society to rebuild the event from the ground up. The Queen’s Law Cancer Society coordinated performers, sponsors, donors, and volunteers, all while balancing the demands of law school.

As a first-year student, Sairoglou admits to feeling nervous at first. “The idea of helping run something on this scale felt overwhelming and way outside of what I thought I could handle,” she says. “But the amount of support, encouragement, and kindness I experienced from the Queen’s Law community completely changed that. It ended up being not just manageable, but a fun and fulfilling experience.”  

For Sairoglou, one of the most rewarding parts was seeing students, faculty, and supporters come together for a common cause while celebrating the many talents within Queen’s Law.

That support was reflected throughout the evening. Forty-two students from across all three years of the JD program took the stage alongside Professor Mary-Jo Maur and Queen’s Pom. Student bands, vocalists, dancers, and musicians helped transform the evening into a showcase of talent in support of a shared cause. Fundraising extended beyond ticket sales, with contributions from sponsors, a raffle, and a popular silent auction featuring donated items and experiences with faculty members that drew enthusiastic bidding from attendees.

The evening ultimately raised a record $26,000, the largest amount in the event’s history. Proceeds will support Brain Cancer Canada and the Canadian Cancer Society’s work supporting patients and families. Looking ahead, the Queen’s Law Cancer Society hopes its continued fundraising efforts can also help support a future grant for the Queen’s University Neurosurgical Research Team through Brain Cancer Canada.

For Asselstine and Sairoglou, the success of the evening reinforced what could be accomplished when the Queen’s Law community rallied behind a cause that had touched so many of its members.

“It made me even more excited to stay involved and keep building on this momentum,” says Sairoglou. “I would love to help make the event even bigger and better in the years to come.”

That momentum is already carrying forward. While Asselstine spends the academic year on exchange, she remains involved with the Queen’s Law Cancer Society as vice-president of administration and succession. Meanwhile, Sairoglou and her new co-president, Jordan Strasberg, Law’28, are preparing for the next Cabaret for a Cure, building on the event’s record-breaking return and ensuring the revived tradition continues to bring the Queen’s Law community together in support of cancer research and patient care for many years to come.

See more photos of Cabaret for a Cure 2026 on the QLCS’s Instagram.