Helping people affected by cancer

Solaris Cancer Care provide online wellness programs

Thanks to funds raised through Dry July 2019, Solaris Cancer Care have been providing comprehensive support to cancer patients during the COVID-19 crisis. Through their provision of online wellness programs and self-care services, Solaris have been running counselling delivered via Zoom, phone, or email to help manage stress, anxiety, depression, and social isolation given the current circumstances. Support Groups and Demonstrations via online classes have also been made available for cancer patients to access, to maintain optimal physical and mental wellbeing.

Eighty Looms, Eighty Families

One of many community projects made possible by Dry July your generous support is the Weaving into Wellbeing project. In collaboration with the Australian Tapestry Workshop in Melbourne, Nicole and the Carterie team distributed eighty hand looms throughout the hospital. Patients and visitors set to work weaving colourful layers of thread and cloth into simple tapestries. Over a period of months, the looms were completed and delivered back—some in the mail from patients and families who had gone home—and the tapestries were assembled into wall hangings. For most of the participants, weaving was a new skill. Intricate and absorbing, it helps to focus the mind and keep the hands busy during waiting periods or hospital stays.

The simple,...

Flinders Cancer Wellness Centre open thanks to Dry July

Thanks to Dry July participants and the generosity of the Dry July Foundation, patients and their families affected by cancer are now receiving additional support with a new Cancer Wellness Centre opened at Flinders in February 2020.

The new centre is the focal point of a new cancer wellness program, designed to ease the burden of cancer and address many of the unmet needs of patients and their families during and after cancer treatment – many of which can be lifelong.

This extra support focuses on a range of physical, educational, emotional and practical impacts which cancer can often have, including fatigue, anxiety, dietary, financial and employment concerns, among others. The centre will also be a valuable conduit in connecting...

The balcony garden funded by Dry July Foundation is complete!

Thanks to funds raised in Dry July 2019, The Royal Melbourne Hospital was able to develop a fresh look for their palliative unit by creating beautiful gardens for patients to enjoy.

The gardens have made a significant impact on patients during their stay at the Royal Melbourne Hospital, with staff receiving comments like, "It is lovely - it reminds me of my own garden."

Another patient who was at the hospital for end of life care loved the garden and requested to have her bed angled towards the garden at all times so that it was her view throughout the day.

Thanks to the funds raised by the 2019 Dry July Foundation, this wonderful addition to the Palliative Care and Supportive Care Unit has most certainly added to the quality of life to the...

Prince of Wales Hospital Cancer Survivorship Centre

Prince of Wales Hospital Cancer Survivorship Centre, housed in the beautifully restored Medical Superintendent’s Cottage was generously supported with funding from Dry July to the Prince of Wales Hospital Foundation to provide fit out for waiting room areas and essential virtual care audio visual equipment.

The purpose of the Prince of Wales Hospital Cancer Survivorship Centre will be to optimise the health and wellbeing of people living with and beyond cancer by engaging all who are impacted by cancer as empowered partners, and integrating evidence-informed and evidence-generating care to deliver a patient-centred, coordinated, cost-effective, sustainable and innovative cancer survivorship program. The program will focus on prevention,...

Fresh fruit boxes to support our most vulnerable cancer patients

Thanks to funding received from Dry July, Bendigo Health’s Cancer Wellness Coordinator, Jenna Sing, together with the Fundraising & Foundation team have developed innovative ways to support the most vulnerable cancer patients amid the current pandemic.

PA Hospital launches the next stage to their cancer wellness initiative… an online portal!

With the growing uncertainty surrounding the spread of COVID-19, innovative ways of providing support for those affected by cancer is paramount.

Thanks to the PA Research Foundation’s 2019 Dry July campaign which raised over $46,000, the timely development of a new online portal has been made possible. As a part of the Queensland Cancer Wellness Initiative (QCWI), the online portal offers a range of resources, activities, and information specifically designed for patients to access to support throughout their treatment journey. QCWI is the first program of its kind in Queensland to provide a model of cancer care based on a wellness framework which addresses all the components of self – mind, body and spirit.

Jodie Nixon, the team leader...

'Return to Wellness Program' receives a $33,000 grant from Dry July!

The team at Mater were thrilled to receive a cheque from Dry July for $33,000 to support its Return to Wellness Program for breast cancer patients. A number of people went dry in July 2019 resulting in these funds being raised to support high-risk breast cancer patients access a guided exercise program with a physiotherapist and breast care nurse for support. As part of the program, patients also receive advice about their diet and lifestyle choices to improve their health. Thank you to the Dry July Foundation and to everyone who took part in last year’s challenge. The countdown is on for Dry July 2020! www.dryjuly.com

The Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital welcomes Natasha Roberts, a Prostate Cancer Specialist Nurse to the team!

Last month Dry July Foundation Beneficiary Program Manager, Zoe Burrell, met with newly recruited Prostate Cancer Specialist Nurse, Natasha Roberts, at the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital. Natasha’s position has been made possible thanks to funds raised during the 2019 Dry July campaign.

In 2019, Dry July participants that selected Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia raised over $430,000. These funds, plus an additional grant from Dry July Foundation, went to the PCFA Prostate Cancer Specialist Nursing program.

Featured in photo from left to right -

Zoe Burrell - Dry July Foundation Beneficiary Program Manager
Jason Castle – Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia, QLD Fundraising Manager
Natasha Roberts – Prostate Cancer Specialist...