Helping people affected by cancer

Dry July Foundation assists with accommodation services for people affected by blood cancer

Every 41 minutes, an Australian is diagnosed with a blood cancer or related blood disorder. Blood cancer is the third biggest cause of cancer death in Australia, claiming more lives each year than breast cancer or skin cancer. For people living in regional and remote areas, a blood cancer diagnosis normally means urgent relocation to capital cities to access live-saving treatment. Each year, the Leukaemia Foundation supports more than 750 families from regional and rural Australia by providing free accommodation and services in the major cities, keeping families together and close to their loved one during treatment, for as long as they need.

And this year the Dry July Foundation is helping to make this possible.

Through the Dry July...

2018 funds provide sixteen state-of-the-art Entertainment Systems

The Andrew Love Cancer Centre Chemo Day Ward is currently undergoing a huge redevelopment; a project that has been 100% funded by the community through fundraising and donations. With no extra funds to replace the old TV's that patients use while having chemo in their chairs, Barwon Health were going to put the old TV's back in the Centre once the redevelopment was finished.

Instead, funds raised by supporters of Barwon Health Andrew Love Cancer Centre, plus an early grant from The Dry July Foundation Victoria and a generous donation by Rauland Australia, will be used to purchase a state-of-the-art entertainment system. Each of the 16 chemo stations within the new Cancer Centre will be kitted out with the 'Siemens HiMed Cockpit Bedside...

Providing accommodation eases the strain for rural families

At the young age of 30 years old, with 3 young children, Dubbo resident Regina Batton received the devastating news on Friday 25th August that she in fact had blood cancer. A day she will never forget.

Regina was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia (AML). With the average normal blood count range between 3,500 and 10,500, Regina’s blood test confirmed her blood count was only 34. She was rushed to her local Dubbo hospital immediately and given 4 blood transfusions to stabilise her.

The next day, Regina was transported to Sydney’s Royal Prince Alfred Hospital for further testing and what was to be ongoing painful bone marrow biopsies. Intensive chemotherapy treatment started the next day for 7 days straight (24 hours a day), followed...

Dry July participants fund physical health program in Geelong region

Dry July has funded an integrated physical therapy program available to all suitable in-patient and out-patient cancer patients. This program will be run across two Barwon Health sites/departments (In-patient Baxter 6 Haemotology/Oncology Ward and our Out-patient Supportive Care Centre. The program will include a wide variety of classes/therapy sessions from a mix of exercise facilitators and physio and would include the following:

- 'Living with Cancer' Exercise therapy

- Yoga

- Exercise Physiology ad physio

- Tai Chi

- Oncology Massage provided by oncology massage therapists.

This will positively affect suitable patients by improving health and well-being in general but also providing patients with something positive to focus on with...

Dry July funds used for the little things that make a difference!

Here are some of the items provided by Dry July funding so appreciated by our patients:

- Tim Tams are offered to patients and their families whilst undergoing treatment. Approved by our Dietician!We also offer varietal teas, herbal, relaxing and for general enjoyment.

- Fresh flowers and Daily newspapers is welcoming for patients and their family members whilst attending the Cancer Centre.

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.

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...