Prince of Wales cancer survivor, Angela Wales, is grateful for the support given by Dry July Foundation
Angela Wales grew up the oldest of five children in Walcha NSW. Through her life she has worked around the world as a librarian (Cambridge, UK), field archaeological assistant (Greece) and travel consultant (London and the executive director of the Australian Writers Guild. She ultimately became Executive Director of the Writers Guild Foundation. The WGA West is one of the more powerful Hollywood unions, also representing writers working in film, television and other AV fields.
She retired from the Foundation and returned to Australia in late 2013 to help take care of her elderly mother. It was at this time she was diagnosed with breast cancer. While having her at chemotherapy at Prince of Wales Hospital - she decided that faced with...
Dry July funds help McGrath Foundation support people like Selena
Selena’s diagnosis
Breast health has always been important to me because my mum was diagnosed with breast cancer when she was 39. I was vigilant in conducting regular self-checks and planned to start getting regular mammograms when I turned 45.
When I was 42, I felt a lump in my breast and booked in for a mammogram. The BreastScreen bus was due to arrive in town in a few weeks. Fortunately, the lump I had found was benign, but the mammogram picked up some other lumps I couldn’t feel.
Further testing revealed these lumps were cancerous. Early stage, but cancerous.
Because of my family history, I didn’t want to take any chances, so I decided to have a double mastectomy and reconstruction, as well as genetic testing. The testing came back...
Dry July funds help Leukaemia Foundation support people like Joe and Chanelle
Blood cancer survivor, Joe and his partner, Chanelle benefitted from on-site personal care and support while staying at Leukaemia Foundation Patient Accommodation.
The couple have lived out at the Kalgoorlie Goldfields in remote Western Australia for the last 12 years. Joe working as a boilermaker and Chanelle as a hairdresser, life was bliss for the nature-loving couple.
“We are outdoors people and love going camping, fishing, hiking and bike-riding,” said Chanelle. “Every chance we get we drive the four hours to Esperance to camp at the beautiful beaches, we absolutely love it there and we love the ocean.
A blood cancer diagnosis couldn’t have been further from their minds when Joe started to notice shortness of breath last year.
When...
Dry July funds help Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia support people like Mark and Linda
Mark and Linda's lives were turned upside down when Mark was diagnosed with prostate cancer.
“The day the doctor actually said, ‘You have prostate cancer,’ it all became a blur. I didn’t hear a thing that was said after that,” Mark remembers.
All their plans immediately went out the window and instead they were faced with endless doctors’ appointments, meetings with specialists and deciding on treatment plans. It was so overwhelming. They didn’t know what to do or who to talk to.
For Mark’s wife Linda and their family, it was difficult to know where to turn for the right treatment. “It was so hard to find information, to know what to do,” Linda said.
Navigating the whole process and working out the correct treatment at such an...
Dry July funds help Redkite support people like Ben
When Ben was 23 years old, doctors discovered he had a malignant brain tumour: astrocytoma glioma. “I was bluntly told: ‘You have cancer’,” he remembers.
Life changed overnight for Ben who immediately underwent brain surgery. The neurosurgeons removed 95 percent of his tumour, but Ben had 33 sessions of radiation in seven weeks, followed by six months of life-sapping chemotherapy, to remove the rest.
For Ben, Redkite was there help him maintain his independence during treatment. “It was helpful to speak with people at Redkite who understood what I was going through. I really couldn’t imagine going through the challenging times I endured without the warming support from the Redkite social workers. They took so much pressure off the whole...
Dry July funds help Look Good Feel Better support people like Jodie
Jodie's Story
"I found a lump in my breast in August last year, but to be honest I didn’t take it too seriously. I’m a young mum of two daughters, aged 14 and 10, and I didn’t think people like me, with no family history, got cancer.
When my GP referred me very quickly for a biopsy and further testing I became more concerned, and within four days of my initial check-up I received a breast cancer diagnosis. It completely took the wind out of me. I was shocked, scared and confused. And of course, the biggest question was why me?
As the plans were laid out for my treatment, my breast care nurse told me about the Look Good Feel Better workshops, and I was thrilled at the idea of joining with other women in the same position as me. I knew what...
2019 Dry July funds helped Mummy’s Wish create 300 Care Packs!
Since 1st January 2020 Mummy's Wish has sent out 300 Care packs to mums with cancer across Australia. These Care Packs are posted to all mums registered with us to help prepare and support them and their families as mum goes through treatment for cancer.
Each Care Pack includes:
• The Mummy’s Wish voice recordable Comfort Bear provided for each child aged 12 and under in the family. Mum is able to record a message of love for her little one/s that the child can listen to and feel reassured whenever they are separated from their mum due to her treatment.
• Age appropriate therapeutic book(s) for her children that assists mums in discussing their cancer journey and associated emotions with their children. The books resourced have been...
Thanks to funds raised through Dry July 2019, comfort and colour transforms cancer patient waiting areas
With the help of funds raised by 2019 Dry July participants, patients and carers are walking into more comfortable and welcoming space thanks to an upgrade of the Westmead Hospital Crown Princess Mary Cancer Centre.
New lounges and chairs, phone charging stations, TV screens, sound absorption wall tiles, and a fresh colour scheme with Australian-themed artworks are among the features of the five overhauled patient waiting rooms, designed from scratch with consumer input.
Lung cancer patient and Vietnam War veteran Steven Chamulko said he appreciated the thought that went into the redesign.
“When you walk into somewhere that’s colourful, light and bright you feel better, rather than somewhere drab that gets you down,” Steven said.
“I’ve...
BRICC Wellness Centre benefits from 2019 Dry July funds!
The funds raised for BRICC Wellness Centre from last year’s Dry July campaign helped support the services on offer which are complimentary for patients of the facility and their families.
The patients utilised a range of services featured, all helping them throughout their journey, providing advice, guidance, support and a range of other services. Whether it was yoga, relaxation, mindfulness, bra and breast form fittings, art therapy, financial advice, all of these programs are of great benefit to BRICC patients.
Along with funding a range of offerings the Dry July campaign proudly supported the oncology massage program, which delivered nearly 1000 massages last year to cancer patients within the Ballarat and Grampians region.