St Vincent's Hospital, Melbourne

“As awful as my diagnosis is, I can comprehend and accept it. But the thought of my hair falling out feels like a punch to the stomach. It makes no sense to me that treating my illness should cost me my hair. It feels like a punishment, or a curse. If you can support someone's psychological health during cancer treatment, it can make a big difference to the person's quality of life and that may well have some flow on clinical benefit." Help us provide scalp cooling caps for our patients which can reduce the risk of hair loss during chemo, Support #DryJuly today.

“As awful as my diagnosis is, I can comprehend and accept it. But the thought of my hair falling out feels like a punch to the stomach. It makes no sense to me that treating my illness should cost me my hair. It feels like a punishment, or a curse. If you can support someone's psychological health during cancer treatment, it can make a big difference to the person's quality of life and that may well have some flow on clinical benefit." Help us provide scalp cooling caps for our patients which can reduce the risk of hair loss during chemo, Support #DryJuly today.

July is over and our amazing Dry July fundraisers are finally over their dry spell. Donations are still open for the whole month of August. Please give generously so we can provide a scalp cooling cap for our cancer patients, which can reduce the risk of hair loss during chemotherapy.  

A huge thank you to our amazing Dry July supporters this year. So far, you have raised an incredible $32,778 for St Vincent's Hospital Melbourne's Cancer Centre.

This year we are raising vital funds for our very own scalp cooling cap, which can reduce the risk of hair loss during chemotherapy. Losing your hair is one of the more distressing aspects of cancer treatment and the cooling cap helps lower scalp temperature, reducing blood flow to the hair follicles, alleviating the damage chemotherapy causes.

So keep up the good work and let’s strive to raise $45,000 – It would be incredible if we can offer this service to our cancer patients.

For patients like Steven, who has been coming to St Vincent’s Haematology, Oncology and Palliative Care Unit for five months, receiving chemotherapy treatment for Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia, the proceeds of Dry July has made his stay just that little bit more comfortable.

Steven has been coming to St Vincent’s in Melbourne every couple of weeks for a week’s stay receiving chemotherapy which is a major part of his care while waiting for a bone marrow transplant.

Steven is just one of many patients who benefits from the simple but effective use of the ice making machine, thanks to the funds raised during Dry July. “Chemotherapy leaves me feeling a little worse for wear because it is hitting my immune system. This means I am vulnerable to all sorts of infections and illness. The machine uses filtered water so the ice it makes is that bit safer for someone in my position. Just sucking on the ice makes my mouth ulcers feel better too.”

Another benefit of sucking on ice is that the reduced oral capillary action safeguards the delicate tissues from damage resulting from the treatment; so simple and yet so effective.

“Feeling a bit better when treatment is hard going means I can have a better time during family visits and bounce back on my no treatment days quicker. I’m really grateful to Dry July and everyone who has helped make this ice making machine available for all of us to use.”