The Lifehouse LivingRoom is the home of Supportive Cancer Care and Integrative Medicine at Chris O’Brien Lifehouse in Camperdown, Sydney. Over the last few years, Dry July has been an integral part in funding our Lifehouse LivingRoom in our patient complementary therapies. 

Kim Kerin-Ayres, one of our Livingroom Care Coordinators who works closely with our patients says “I think cancer can be really disempowering, so helping people regain some sense of control is probably one of the most important things we try to do. We integrate into their treatment regimen some of the therapies that are going to be helpful for them in the long run, or help keep them well. For some people, it's about managing their symptoms. For others it's about proactive wellness.”

Kim recalls one of her patients who came to her for help with side effects of chemotherapy.

“She thought that she was just supposed to feel awful, that feeling so unwell must be normal. We were able to get some things in place to help her feel a little bit better, to manage her fatigue for example. She was about halfway through treatment and she said “I don't think I can [continue chemotherapy]”, but it was really important for her to do so. So we got into mindfulness, we got her into some reflexology... And she got through her cycles of chemo which was really good.”