The Alfred treats thousands of people living with cancer each year through our world-class service.
This includes five radiotherapy bunkers (three at The Alfred and two at Latrobe Regional Hospital), 40 inpatient beds, 18 day-admission chairs and 10 cancer clinical trial chairs, among other things.
But it is programs like Dry July which can help with some of the little – and not so little – challenges that confront many of our patients, some who come to The Alfred from regional and remote parts of Victoria. Accommodation and transport for some patients who travel long distances to The Alfred for treatment is just one of the programs supported by Dry July to help improve our service.
One of the many patients to benefit from this program is Jim, who hails from Marlo, a coastal town some six hours east of Melbourne. Jim has a long history with The Alfred, having had a brain operation and a pacemaker installed, while his wife also had a heart valve replacement at the hospital.
A lot of exposure to the sun throughout his career, however, resulted in further health problems. “I was a deckhand on a fishing boat for about 45 years and before that I was a carpenter and joiner apprentice,” Jim said.
He had melanomas removed from his back about 18years ago and has been battling skin cancer ever since. Due to the monitoring his pacemaker requires, Jim’s radiation therapy must be performed at The Alfred.
“The Alfred has found me accommodation (through funding from Dry July) and the Red Cross takes me backwards and forwards every day. I couldn’t fault The Alfred, they’ve been fantastic for me,” Jim said.
“It’s just a fantastic service, it’s great.” It is programs like this that funds raised from this year’s Dry July will go towards, so that many other patients can received the best possible cancer treatments
Other projects that are hoped to benefit from Dry July funds include scalp cooling equipment which helps reduce hair loss during chemotherapy (a common side effect of treatment), patient wellbeing initiatives and a music therapy program.
Join us this Dry July and help The Alfred continue to support people like Jim who are affected by cancer.
