Helping people affected by cancer

Dry July Foundation funds continuation of Music Therapy at The Alfred

Thank you for taking on the Dry July challenge in 2019 and supporting The Alfred Hospital this year.

Your fundraising for Dry July has enabled The Alfred Hospital to support our Palliative Care Services.

Over the past year, the Palliative Care Service at Alfred Health has been able to provide music therapy for more than 300 patients and families thanks to the support of Dry July. With “Charlie” the harp, Dr Lucy Forrest, Senior Music Therapist at The Alfred visits patients and families around the hospital, playing music to soothe, comfort and relax, bring joy, and also to provide symptom and procedural support as patients undergo treatment and approach end-of-life.

The funding raised this year means Dr Forrest can continue providing this...

Dry July Foundation funds the continuation of CanSupport program for Northern Sydney cancer patients

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...

Dry July Foundation helps cancer patients at Olivia Newton-John Cancer Wellness & Research Centre

Thanks to funds raised through Dry July 2019, the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Wellness & Research Centre have been able to fund the following projects:

• Exercise Physiologists at the ONJ Centre Wellness Gym, allowing the gym to increase hours to meet demand (currently 41 patients on wait list)

• Cancer Information and Resource Service

• Continued funding for the Oncology Massage Program

Special services like oncology massage make a life changing difference to people with cancer, like Beverley. “I get to the point where my neck feels like it’s wrapped up with barbed wire. Oncology massage is a life-saver for me and incredibly beneficial to my quality of life” – Beverley Douglas, patient.

Suan from the Wellness Centre sees the enormous...

Dry July funding impact - Ben's Story

When Ben was 23 years old, he went to his doctor after having a serious of painful frequent headaches. His doctor was concerned and insisted he needed a brain scan. Tests soon revealed Ben had a malignant brain tumour that was four-centimetres wide. “I was bluntly told ‘You have cancer,’” he remembers.

After Ben received confirmation of his diagnosis, he underwent emergency brain surgery. The neurosurgeons removed 95% of his tumour. To treat the remaining 5%, Ben had 33 sessions of radiation in seven weeks, followed by six months of chemotherapy. During that time, he lost 30 kgs. “That was definitely the worst,” he says. “It just took life away from me, but I tried to stay as positive as possible. It made me realise all the small things...

Wellness Centre at Liverpool Hospital benefits from Dry July 2019 funding

Funding from Dry July Foundation in 2019 continues to support the Wellness Centre at Liverpool Hospital.

The Wellness Centre Program aims to provide a supportive environment to empower cancer patients and their carers to maximise their wellness potential based on their individual capacity and their needs. They are designed to assist patients in achieving their best treatment outcome and to assist in their return to community based programs and primary care. These programs provide support, education and therapies to assist mind, body & soul.

The Wellness Centre aims to provide an informal and comfortable area for Cancer patients and their carers to access within Liverpool Hospital. Numerous support services can be accessed within the...

Dry July Foundation supports Cancer Wellness Program at Flinders Centre for Innovation in Cancer

Funds from the Dry July 2019 campaign will enable the Dry July Foundation to introduce therapy-based and therapeutic art activities into the cancer wellness program via the Cancer Wellness Centre which is currently being developed and is due to open mid-October 2019.

Arts in Health at Flinders Medical Centre (FMC) was introduced at FMC in 1996. The program currently works across all clinical areas of the hospital and currently supports in-patients in the oncology ward. These services will be adapted to deliver an Arts in Health program through the cancer wellness centre at Flinders Centre for Innovation in Cancer.

For a cancer patient, an engagement with a supported visual at activity can be used to:

- improve mood and mobility

- provide...

Dry July Foundation making a difference to patients at Chris O'Brien Lifehouse

Thanks to funds raised through Dry July 2019, the Dry July Foundation is able to fund an incredible amount of projects at the Chris O'Brien Lifehouse:

• Build a small garden outside gym window. Currently the exercise equipment face a glass window which has a metal fence in front. There's space enough to build a small garden so patient will have a nicer view to help with their exercise recovery.

• Speech Pathology Tools to relieve anxiety in tracheotomy patients. The tracheostomy model can demo how the procedures are performed

• New Yoga Equipment for patient yoga class. Exercise during and after treatment makes a huge difference to patients recovery; yoga in particular, as it's relatively low impact can help patients during recovery but...

Dry July 2019 helps continue the CoastCanCare Wellness Program

Thanks to funds raised through Dry July 2019, the Dry July Foundation can provide ongoing Funding for CoastCanCare wellness program for the Central Coast

CoastCanCare provides information, education and support programs for patients and carers to develop skills for coping with a cancer diagnosis, treatments and treatment side effects, such as fatigue, pain and anxiety.

Many of the CoastCanCare programs focus on reducing anxiety and stress and is a great space for patients and carers to connect with and support each other.

Those attending the Program are then better equipped to stick with their treatment plan with the best possible outcomes... and to manage their health and well-being at the end of their care.

Melanoma Unit and Day Treatment Centre benefit from Dry July 2019 funds

The fantastic fundraising efforts of Dry July 2019 participants have meant the Dry July Foundation can fund the following items at Calvary Mater Newcastle Hospital:

• Blanket Warmer for the Melanoma Unit

• Five chemotherapy treatment chairs for the Day Treatment Centre to replace older style that are worn out. These new chairs have silica upholstery and built in multimedia platform.