Very few people are ever discharged from palliative care – but Wendy West is one such patient.

In December, it was thought she wouldn’t ring in the new year. Now, six months on, she’s taking on the Dry July challenge to fundraise for Barwon Health’s Andrew Love Cancer Centre, the cancer service that has never given up on her.

The Geelong region local discovered she had terminal cancer by chance in June 2023, after she fell and broke her back. Doctors noticed swollen lymph nodes during a scan.

“Further scans showed I had small cell lung cancer, stage four. I was only 53 at the time and had no history of cancer in the family but I had been a smoker before.

“At that time, they thought I would have 12 to 18 months to live.”

Ms West says without the Andrew Love Cancer Centre, she would not be here today.

“More funding could help the centre keep up the ‘incredible’ innovations in treatment.”