February 4, 2021Today is World Cancer Day – an opportunity to raise worldwide attention for cancer, and inspire action for prevention, detection and treatment.
Cancer has a significant impact on our society and is one of the leading causes of death in Australia.
Melissa Gwynne, Day Oncology Nurse Unit Manager, explained the importance of recognising World Cancer Day.
“Cancer has touched so many lives, either directly or indirectly. It’s important to raise the awareness of what we can do as a community and as individuals to reduce the risks of cancer,” Melissa said.
Northern Health Cancer Services are committed to providing the best possible care to patients in our community affected by cancer. To help continue to provide this high quality care to our patients, Northern Health Foundation has launched the Cancer Giving Tree.
Over the years, we have received many very generous donations from grateful patients and families for their outstanding care at Northern Health during their cancer journey. From this, the Giving Tree has been created to acknowledge the incredible and ongoing support from our community.
The Giving Tree is on display in the Day Oncology Unit at Northern Hospital Epping to brighten the ward and so patients and families can see the difference our community has made to their lives. Each coloured leaf represents a donation from our community ranging from $250 to $10,000, and the butterflies pictured to the right of the below image symbolise very generous donations over $10,000.
“The cancer giving tree is a great way to donate to Northern Health Cancer Services and to also recognise the many great donors we have had contributing to the growth of our services,” Melissa said.
Donations help Northern Health fund medical equipment for our Day Oncology Units at both Epping and Craigieburn. Having comfortable treatment chairs, warm blankets and state-of-the-art medical equipment ensures our cancer patients get the care and comfort they need at a time when they are most vulnerable.
“We have been very fortunate at Northern Health to be blessed by some very generous donors and groups of people raising money for Cancer Services. In Day Oncology, we have been able to purchase vital equipment such as scalp cooling machines, treatment chairs, a blanket warmer, vital sign machines and an ECG machine to name a few,” Melissa explained.
“All of the equipment and products we purchase are to improve the care we provide to our patients and also ensure a comfortable, welcoming environment for their treatments,” Melissa added.
We encourage our community to donate to the Cancer Giving Tree to help make a difference to the lives of people affected by cancer.
To make a donation to the Northern Health Foundation Cancer Giving Tree, please click here.
Featured Image: Patient, Fernando, with Day Oncology Nurse Unit Manager, Melissa Gwynne
