Helping people affected by cancer

Brett MacDonald CEO of Dry July at opening ceremony

All good things come…Finally the roof-top garden has been opened and is available to patients at Haematology and Bone Marrow Transplant ward at Royal Melbourne Hospital. Over $250,000 in funds raised by Dry July participants went into this beautiful and calming facility.

This space allows our patients’ and their families to connect with nature and the great outdoors, to give their thoughts and minds some respite, and to encourage a sense of community, in a place that is away from home.

Tree of Hope Decal for cancer survivors

This Dry July funding has paid for a beautiful mural at Fiona Stanley Radiation Oncology ward.

Each patient completing treatment adds their own leaf to the tree on completion of their treatment. It's a wonderful visual representation of the successful outcomes that can be achieved with treatment and offers hope to those just starting their journey.

Announcing 2018 Major Beneficiaries

The Dry July Foundation is proud to announce a partnership with five of Australia’s biggest cancer charities.

The partnerships, with cancer charities based across the country, strengthen Dry July’s core purpose of supporting people affected by cancer. The beneficiaries will receive donations from the fundraising activities of Dry July participants.

Since 2008, Dry July has raised over $30 million in the last 10 years and has helped fund over 1,000 projects, including 198 facility upgrades, 179 therapy and wellness programs, wig libraries and chemotherapy scalp cooling machines.

In 2018, the new partners are The Leukaemia Foundation and Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia, which join Look Good Feel Better, Cancer Council NSW and...

Airvo humidifiers -Thanks Dry Julyers'

Patients and staff of Calvary Mater Newcastle’s Oncology Ward 5B are very grateful for Dry July funding which has enabled the purchase of two much-needed Airvo humidifiers.

For patients with head and neck cancers, the humidifiers assist with by warming and moistening the air, alleviating drying out of airways and reducing symptoms related to head and neck cancers.

As head and neck cancer patients don’t breath through their noses, airways can dry out quickly causing excess saliva build-up, leading to further complications.

Linda Liversidge, Ward 5B Nursing Unit Manager commented, “It has been fantastic having the Airvo Humidifiers to loan out to patients who have had tracheostomies or laryngectomies. As humidifiers are costly to hire,...

Oncology Equipment Loan Pool - Thanks to Dry Julyers'

Thanks to Dry July funding, the Occupational Therapy Department at Calvary Mater Newcastle was able to purchase a large range of assistive aids for the hospital’s Oncology Equipment Loan Pool.

The Oncology Equipment Loan Pool is a comprehensive service that is provided free of charge to any Calvary Mater Newcastle oncology outpatient receiving treatment. The pool provides a vast range of assistive devices and appliances to help patients manage the functional disabilities that occur with cancer diseases. Equipment includes: wheelchairs, pressure cushions, shower chairs, commodes, raised toilet seats, portable ramps, bathboards, swivel bathseats, to name but a few. At any one point in time up to 300 patients can be benefiting from this...

Scalp coolers purchased through Dry July

Mater Foundation has used Dry July funds to purchase 2 scalp cooling cap systems for Mater Cancer Care Centre Springfield.

Chemotherapy works by targeting all rapidly dividing cells in the body. Hair is the second fastest dividing cell in the body and this is the reason why many chemotherapy drugs cause hair loss. The hair follicles in the growth phase are attached resulting in hair loss approximately 2 weeks after commencement of chemotherapy treatment.

The damage that chemotherapy causes to the hair follicle can be alleviated by using scalp cooling. Scalp cooling works by reducing the temperature of the scalp by a few degrees immediately before, during and after the administration of chemotherapy. This in turn reduces the blood flow to...

Projects funded from Dry July 2017

Thanks to funds raised from Dry July 2017, Shoalhaven Cancer Care Centre have been able to fund:

- NEW magazines throughout the patient spaces in the Centre

- Children’s Creativity Packs for children accompanying adults to appointments

- 2018: Living Well After Treatment Workshops

- Music delivered via iPad and speaker, while patients undergo Radiation Therapy treatment

- Colour me Calm Mindfulness Resource Kits for Chemotherapy patients

- Welcome to Cancer Services video for patient viewing (in development)

Projects funded from Dry July 2017

Thanks to funds raised from Dry July 2017, Wollongong Hospital (Illawarra Cancer Care Centre) have been able to fund the following projects:

- NEW magazines throughout the patient spaces in the Illawarra Cancer Care Centre and Cancer Inpatient Ward

- Children’s Creativity Packs for children accompanying adults to appointments

- 2018: Patient and Carer Tai Chi Program

- 2018: Living Well After Treatment Workshops

- Large Pots housing palms outside the Level 2 entrance to the Illawarra Cancer Care Centre

- Music, delivered via iPad and speaker, while patients undergo Radiation Therapy treatment

- Colour me Calm Mindfulness Resource Kits for Chemotherapy patients

- A Hydration Station in the Radiation Therapy patient waiting space (launching...

Paxman Scalp Cooling Unit for Chris O'Brien Lifehouse

Nurse Unit Manager Lindley Randle from Chris O'Brien Lifehouse's Day Therapy Unit was delighted to be able to purchase a Paxman Scalp Cooling Unit designed to reduce and prevent hair loss during selected chemotherapy treatments. This was made possible through Dry July funding.

For patients who meet the requirements to use the machine and who are distressed by the idea of losing their hair (and ‘looking like someone with cancer’), scalp cooling provides an opportunity to maintain the majority of their hair and to reduce the emotional and psychosocial burden of treatment.