Helping people affected by cancer

Dry July offering a room with a view

With the support of the Dry July Foundation The Alfred has installed a new sky ceiling to help patients feel at ease while undergoing radiotherapy treatment. By offering this room with a view we hope to be able to improve the overall experience a person has when being treated for cancer.

The caring and committed team of doctors, nurses and specialists working within our cancer services are continually looking at ways to improve their patients’ experience. The implementation of the sky ceiling panels above the radiotherapy machine will help do that. Patients could be undergoing treatment for up to 40 minutes, now they can look up and concentrate on the sky, the shapes of the clouds or the colours in the trees. It will give them something...

Dry July Foundation supporting Redkite in 2019

This week in Australia, 17 teenagers and young adults will hear the devastating news they have cancer. Cancer puts a big question mark on the present and the future. It’s scary and we hear all the time that facing cancer can feel lonely – particularly for young patients treated in adult hospitals with people twice their age. Study, work, friendships, health - everything is impacted. Some may miss a whole year of school, and others may have to deal with treatment impacts like the loss of a limb. Many young people share that on top of missing out on so much, they worry about the impact of their illness on their families.

During the weeks, months or years of treatment each young person faces, cancer charity Redkite wants them to know...

Dry July Foundation increases number of Major Beneficiaries for 2019 campaign

Following the success of the 2018 campaign, the Dry July Foundation is continuing to extend its reach to help even more Aussies in need of cancer support. For the 2019 campaign, the Foundation has added youth cancer charity, Redkite, and breast cancer charity, McGrath Foundation to its list of major beneficiary partners.

Alongside the new beneficiaries, the Cancer Council has amalgamated all state divisions under one name, with funds being raised to support its nationwide 13 11 20 support line service.

The new partnerships build on the success of the 10th anniversary campaign, which saw a new record of over 36,000 Aussies sign up, and donations topping $7.7 million for the Foundation.

Dry July participants can sign up to the challenge...

New treatment chairs for the Day Treatment Centre

The Calvary Mater Newcastle Day Treatment Centre is pleased to be able to provide our patients with a little more comfort with the procurement of two new chemotherapy treatment chairs thanks to Dry July fundraising. Not only do the chairs reduce the risk of pressure injuries for those patients receiving long treatments but they provide a place where patients can charge personal devices and a platform to support them.

Marissa Ledlin, Nurse Unit Manager of the Day Treatment Centre, comments, “Many of our patients are required to sit in the treatment chair for up to nine hours so it’s essential that they are very comfortable. Our new chairs with the silica upholstery are that and more – we call them the Rolls Royce of our chairs.”

The...

The Prince of Wales Hospital Cancer Survivorship Centre - Launching April 2019

Cancer is a major cause of illness and premature death in the South Eastern Sydney Local Health District. Every year around 5,000 people are diagnosed with cancer. More than one in three local community members will develop cancer during their lifetime. Patients come not only from Sydney metropolitan area, but the Centre also services cancer patients from all over the state. Our cancer survivors are at increased risk for serious long-term morbidity related to the adverse physical, psycho-social and economic burden of cancer and cancer treatment, for a significant period of time beyond diagnosis and treatment. The Prince of Wales Hospital Cancer Survivorship Centre will be located in the Medical Superintendent’s Cottage, adjacent to the...

New hats and Turbans at Calvary Mater Newcastle

Thanks to Dry July Funding, new hats, turbans and scarves were able to be purchased for oncology patients receiving treatment at Calvary Mater Newcastle.

Both men and women report hair loss as one of the side effects they fear most after being diagnosed with cancer. For many, hair loss is a defining factor that they have cancer.

Helen Moore, Clinical Nurse Consultant and McGrath Breast Care Nurse at Calvary Mater Newcastle, says, “Covering your head as your hair falls out is a purely personal decision. For many people, hair is associated with personal identity and health, so they choose to maintain that look by wearing wigs, hats and scarves.

“Out of pocket expenses can be significant for people having treatment for cancer and this...

Dry July Foundation visit the ONJ Centre

In December, we were honoured to be asked to hold Dry July’s Board Meeting (the first time they have held a board meeting outside of Sydney) and our Acting CEO, Dr Mary O’Reilly, was delighted when Dry July CEO and founder Brett MacDonald announced that Dry July Foundation would be giving an additional $97,400 in grant funding to the ONJ Centre. This makes 2018 our most successful year yet with over $180,000 coming from Dry July Foundation to support vital wellness programs, improving patient comfort, care and wellbeing.

You can read more about the visit and the projects that the funding is being used for by clicking HERE.

Christina's Story

My partner and I met in Australia and moved to London together four years ago when I was 23 years old. I am self-employed, providing consulting and training services in the data protection and IT governance environment for businesses. I set-up the business when I was living in the UK alongside co-founding a cybersecurity startup with exciting new opportunities.

Whilst living in the UK, I noticed a pea-sized lump in my neck. It was around for a few weeks and I didn’t think much of it. Then over two days, the lump grew from the size of a pea to the size of a golf ball and I knew I had to immediately get it checked.

I wasn’t actually worried about it at all at first; the three week process was that it was just a cist and we were testing to...

$4 million distributed in the Dry July Foundation 2018 Grant Program

We’re thrilled to announce the recipients of the 2018 Dry July Foundation Grant Program.

The money for the Grant Program was raised by Dry July 2018 participants, who elected to fundraise for the Dry July Foundation as part of their alcohol-free month.

In October, the Dry July Foundation invited cancer support organisations to apply for a grant. Each grant application was capped at $50,000, however organisations could apply for more than one grant.

We received an incredible 171 grant applications from 65 organisations across Australia, totalling over $6.4m. With $4.1m available from this year’s Dry July, we were able to award funding to 138 projects.

Since 2008, the Dry July Foundation has funded more than 1,200 projects for 80 cancer...