Bendigo Health

Our Annual Dry July campaign was launched on 1st of July. Bendigo Health Chiefs Sarah McAdie, Andrea Noonan and Sally Harris have shown their support.

We have over 60 supporters already signed up and our fundraising tally is growing by the day. Thanks to everyone who is supporting Bendigo Health through fundraising, donating or sponsoring.

City of Greater Bendigo Mayor Andrea Metcalf has signed on with Bendigo Health for this year’s Dry July.

Cr Metcalf said she was pleased to support the Cancer Wellness Centre which provides activities to improve the physical, mental and spiritual wellbeing of cancer patients and their carers.

“It’s a great asset for our community and a place that allows someone with cancer the time and space to just be and not think about their diagnosis,” she said.

 “As a non-drinker, I’m going choc-free this July and in doing so am honouring my cousin and a neighbour who both lost their battles with cancer in the past 12 months.”

Bendigo Heritage Attractions Chief Executive Officer James Reade has also signed on with Bendigo Health’s Dry July team.

Mr Reade said becoming a Dry July Ambassador was an easy decision.

“As a Dad of three boys under five, I feel it is important to role model and demonstrate positive choices and behaviours that don’t necessarily involve alcohol,” he said.

“As a family, we have often used the services of Bendigo Health and are consistently reminded how lucky we are to have such a high quality and first class heath system right here in regional Victoria. Dry July is perfect, as it combines the opportunity to make some positive choices with the opportunity to raise some important funds for Bendigo Health.”

Bendigo Health Oncology Unit Clinical Director, Dr Rob Blum quote: “Connectedness and positive experiences make you feel good about the world. The Gobbé Wellness Centre’s focus is about what things we can do to make someone feel better about their current situation”

Jodie Stirling was diagnosed with Breast Cancer in 2018 and a second primary cancer in 2019. Jodie underwent chemotherapy and radiation treatment for a total of 14 months over a 2 year period, but she was able to stay close to home – her treatment was carried out in Bendigo. Jodie’s mother in law was not so lucky, 25 years ago she underwent treatment for cancer in Melbourne which she found quite draining and required support from family and friends to drive her to treatments and back - a stressful 8 hour day per treatment.

Jodie credits the Bendigo Health Gobbé Cancer Wellness Centre with playing a crucial role in her recovery, “the yoga was really beneficial for me to begin to find feeling in my feet and trying different exercises, it’s been amazing. I’ve also done the mindfulness sessions which is something I would never have got involved with until I was diagnosed a second time, then you really need to work on getting your head into the present. Not living about the past or future, but living for today”.

“In my world, I used to think that you got cancer, you did your treatments and everything was fine, not realising the side effects. People don’t realise that once you have your chemo or your radiation or surgery, it’s not over. The (Wellness Centre) program is about being able to go to yoga and mindfulness to help you to try to learn to use your feet again and to get back the strength into your body, and to do it in a supportive area where other people are going through the same thing, so we can laugh and help each other. This is one of the happiest places I go to”

“I would never have done yoga in a million years…….Now I see the benefits. You’d also never gotten me to do a mindfulness session in a pink fit. Now, every morning I do my meditation. It changes you. I understand why people don’t get out of bed while cancer consumes your life; to have something that helps you balance that is really good”.

Oncology nurse and Bendigo Health Cancer Wellness Coordinator, Jenna Sing has been with the centre for over 2 years now, with the funding for her position coming directly from Dry July fundraising. Bendigo Health Oncology Unit Clinical Director Dr. Rob Blum said that Jenna has an exceptional ability to cater to all the patients who use the wellness centre, with support and a listening ear. “She has great connectedness and energy and her compassion to people allows her to appreciate what they need. This is a place of safety and that’s really important”

Jodie is grateful for the Bendigo Health Gobbé Wellness Centre and the support she received through her involvement with the Centre. “You are continually inundated with requests for donations for lots of worthy causes, but the Dry July funds that are raised, they are used locally to provide support for people dealing with a cancer diagnosis”

The calendar of activities that the Gobbe’ Wellness Centre is able to offer has increased 100% in 2022.

We now offer 2 yoga classes per week (previously only 1) and have added a new Tai Chi class each week, along with the existing Mindfulness class.

This has resulted in 16 more cancer participants being able to participate in classes each week. We have also added a weekly walking group and added an extra day of specialised oncology massage per month. Reflexology and Aromatherapy is also available.

The Gobbe’ Wellness Centre increased its opening hours from 3 days in 2021 to 5 days per week in 2022.

It is now open for participants to access classes and services Monday to Friday 9-4 pm. The increased opening hours allows us to offer more classes, increased patient and carer enrolments and patient walk-ins who can also use the general facilities, access to Kitchen and lounge areas and reading resources and relaxation pod.

More capacity in relation to access to services has resulted in increased options and offerings for patient wellbeing and relief from side effects and symptoms.

The Sleep Pod is one of the more popular options for centre users, with users popping in to access the sleep pod, as well as it being an adjunct to massage and reflexology treatments.

A Kitchen and dining area is available at the centre, where participants can access cooking, reheating, coffee/tea facilities, snacks and beverages, in a welcoming space. This helps participants who are on a specialised diet, and provides an alternative to the food court at the hospital.

A Music and Arts program provides a relaxing ambiance to complement the existing programs, and can be extended with more funding to include on a regular basis. We would love to offer a Music and Arts Therapist to participants in the future.

Our Cancer Wellness Coordinator, Jenna Sing, established a dog therapy program to support cancer participants, personally adopting a black Labrador named Sharlee and achieving her public access license for an assistance dog. Sharlee has been incredibly well received by participants and carers and is very happy to be back in the Gobbé Wellness Centre after her time away on maternity leave. https://www.bendigohealthfoundation.org.au/money/our-impact/pet-therapy 

The Gobbe’ Wellness Centre Cancer Wellness Program Newsletter is distributed quarterly to past and current participants and is packed full of information such as Wellness recipes, Cancer research information, Wellness Centre updates, book reviews and other interesting articles.

Bendigo Health’s Cancer Wellness Program provides treatments such as oncology massage, yoga, meditation & mindfulness, reflexology, music and arts, pet therapy and importantly a highly qualified oncology nurse as our wonderful Cancer Wellness Coordinator – Jenna Sing who connects our patients to the services that best meets their physical and emotional needs.

We continue to receive positive feedback from cancer patients about the benefits of these new wellness services.

“The Cancer Wellness Program has given me some structure as part of my week to come to the appointments. I have done the reflexology for 3 or 4 sessions now and really enjoy that. It has increased my flexibility and my mobility which has then helped my physical wellbeing and mental wellbeing.” -Danny

We would like to thank you for your support and contribution to making a positive difference in the lives of people dealing with cancer in our region.