Westmead Hospital - The Crown Princess Mary Cancer Centre

This year Tonya celebrates 30 years since she was first treated for breast cancer at Westmead in 1987. She was diagnosed with another breast cancer in 2014 and is still going strong.

She has been blown away by some of the things that have been purchased with Dry July funds and would have loved to have had those things when she was undergoing treatment. She was very impressed with the new treatment gowns for breast cancer patients undergoing radiation therapy and said that would have made such a big difference at the time she was having treatment and remembered how difficult it was with the old hospital gowns. When she had her chemotherapy she had a hard backed uncomfortable chair that she had to sit in for hours. She was in awe of the new comforts in the chemo suite again provided by Dry July funding. She will also be receiving a patient pamper pack when she comes to see her treating specialist A/Prof Verity Ahern, whom she says she owes her life and can’t say enough about the wonderful care and treatment received her at Westmead.

High Fashion at CPMCC - Very exciting times as we take delivery of the first lot of our new purpose-designed gowns for our breast cancer patients funded by 2016 Dry July fundraising efforts.

The project was conceived and driven by our wonderful radiation therapists who wanted to offer their patients a more suitable treatment garment which provided both modesty and dignity when undergoing treatment. The final gown design and fabric was a collaborative decision made with input from both patients and staff.

All these types of projects are above and beyond, but our staff know that it is these little things that can make such a HUGE difference to our patients. Congratulations to all involved and BIG THANK YOU to the wonderful Dry July organisation who make all our dreams come true!

Dry July funds from 2015 and 2016 will go towards stage 2 development of the Crown Princess Mary Cancer Centre Westmead website. In this stage of development the website will focus on providing content and links for patients which will better inform them about their cancers, what to expect with regards to physical and mental issues, support services available at Westmead, accommodation information, on-line patient consultation bookings etc.  

Dry July funds will help The Crown Princess Mary Cancer Centre replace a further 18 existing chairs which are no longer operational or have tears in the upholstery. The new chairs will be more comfortable and allow patients to recline and relax or even go to sleep if they wish.

The Crown Princess Mary Cancer Centre is using funds from Dry July 2015 to design and print booklets aimed at helping introduce patients to radiation therapy treatment and what to expect at the Centre's 3 facilities.

The booklets should help patients understand what treatments entail and will reinforce verbal discussions with their treating team.