With the funding provided by Dry July we have been able to perform upgrade works to our patient courtyard within the Northern Sydney Cancer Centre (NSCC). Given the current situation with COVID-19, social distancing and the need to protect our patients as they are particularly vulnerable during this time we haven’t had the chance to fully enjoy it but are proud to announce that we have almost completed upgrade works on the NSCC Courtyard.

The Northern Sydney Cancer Centre based at Royal North Shore Hospital treats people from across all of NSW and is focused on providing the best care possible to patients and their family. Providing a good patient experience is at the heart of everything we do, and often this goes beyond just medical care. Our staff meet people at the most difficult time in their lives and want to be able to provide them with a sense of reassurance, comfort and hope – our Patient Wellbeing Program and the courtyard play a key role in this.

As the centre is situated on the lower floor of the hospital it receives very little light and it can be difficult to have safe, quarantined outdoor areas for patients and their families to use before or after treatments (which can often be long and arduous). We hope the upgrades to the courtyard make it more vibrant and that by providing additional seating surrounded by lush foliage the environment will be welcoming for patients and their families to use.

This project would not have been possible if not for the funding provided by Dry July and we are extremely grateful for their support.

Thanks to funds raised in 2019, the Dry July Foundation is able to fund the CanSupport “Patient Wellbeing Program” at the Northern Sydney Cancer Centre (NSCC).

The NSCC looks after patients from across the Northern Sydney Local Health District including patients from Royal North Shore, Hornsby, Ryde and Mona Vale Hospitals.

This program provides crucial services and support to patients and carers receiving cancer care and includes activities such as:

• The Wig Library – provides patients with high quality and well-maintained wigs that assists with the challenges of hair loss during cancer treatments.

• Financial Assistance and Accommodation Support – supports families who need to travel from outside of Sydney to receive cancer treatments and care at NSCC

• Relaxation and Meditation Program – provides well-being and relaxation activities for patients with cancer and their carers

• Support Group Educational Resources – provides funding for the creation and printing of education resources for the numerous patient education programs and support groups held within NSCC

The Wig Library at the Northern Sydney continues to be able to support women and men receiving cancer treatment in the Northern Sydney region thanks to the support of Dry July and the incredible participants who support us each year!

This invaluable support means that we can provide a high quality, free service for patients experiencing hair loss.

In 2018 we had 169 new patients use our service in addition to those wigs already on loan.

When you choose Northern Sydney Cancer & Palliative Care Network as your beneficiary this Dry July, your help will ensure that our patients experiencing hair loss can regain some confidence and feel more normal during a very challenging time in their lives.

Thank you for supporting us.

We're proud to announce that Royal North Shore Hospital has received a grant from the Dry July Foundation 2018 Grant Program.

The grant will go towards the following: 

• Continuation of Relaxation and Meditation Program, where participants are taught essential relaxation and meditation skills to support them through their cancer journey

• New Chemotherapy chairs in the Chemotherapy Day Treatment Unit, to increase patient comfort and safety during treatment

The Relaxation and Meditation Program has been able to continue in 2017-2018 thanks to the funds raised by our supporters. The program specifically caters for people with cancer and their carers. We rely solely on Dry July Funds to run

this program, which is held in Chatswood at the Dougherty Community Centre once a week. The program supports participants to cope better with the impact of cancer and ultimately aims to improve their wellbeing during and after cancer treatment.

The funds raised have also continued to support the Wig Library at the Northern Sydney Cancer Centre. Due to the generosity of Dry July and our supporters, the funds have allowed us to purchase additional wigs and stock wig care kits for patients being treated in the Northern Sydney region. The service is open to patients from both public and private hospital in the area and is a free service. We now stock over 400 wigs from high quality brands, giving people with cancer access to a

service that they would otherwise have to pay hundreds of dollars for. The service therefore gives patients choice and reduces some of the stress of managing hair loss from cancer treatment.