As October marks breast cancer awareness month, a Sunshine Coast charity has once again launched its biggest annual campaign to make a difference to the lives of locals touched by a diagnosis.
This year, Bloomhill Cancer Care is aiming to raise $60,000 as part of its Breast Cancer Awareness Appeal.
Bloomhill provides personalised support by bringing together many health modalities under the one roof, and it is hoped this figure would help support 40 new clients diagnosed with any cancer for one year.
The charity has helped many thousands of people adjust to life after cancer since it was founded in 1997 by breast cancer survivor and palliative care nurse Margaret Gargan.
Someone who knows the importance of the work Bloomhill does is Wendy Barnes.
Ms Barnes was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2008 and has been a client at Bloomhill Cancer Care from early in her cancer experience.
The diagnosis came six months after she moved to the Sunshine Coast from South Australia and it was a hospital nurse that recommended she visit Bloomhill.
“My husband and I came (to Bloomhill) and it was amazing. It not only helped myself but my husband and my children,” Ms Barnes said.
“We had hardly any friends and no family nearby. So Bloomhill became my family.
“I had relaxation massages, lymphoedema treatment, art therapy, connection with other people going through it, cups of tea and also time to be alone in this beautiful rainforest place.”
But in 2013 she was diagnosed with breast cancer for a second time, at her five-yearly check-up.
“It’s been quite a journey. But it’s about: what the mind believes, the body achieves. Living your life and believing in yourself, you have to put it out there,” she said.
Bloomhill Clinical lead nurse Kirsty Ferguson said that following treatment, friends and family of a breast cancer patient may expect that you are “all better now” and want you to move on and get back to normal.
“The reality is recovery following breast cancer treatment can be years and for some, long-term support is required,” Ms Ferguson said.
“For many women their life following treatment is changed and their ‘normal’ is different from before diagnosis.”
Bloomhill CEO Christopher John said this year all donations made as part Breast Cancer Awareness Month will be matched $1 for $1 by the generous support of Sporting Chance Foundation.
Donations can be made via the Bloomhill.
About Bloomhill
Bloomhill has helped 381 breast cancer clients and delivered 1059 occasions of nursing and allied health care over the past 12 months.
On any given month, it can provide as many as 100 occasions of care for breast cancer clients, depending on what their needs are.
Similarly, over the past 12 months, Bloomhill has helped around 53 carers directly who have been impacted by a breast cancer diagnosis from a loved one.
Approximately 80 of all breast cancer clients from the last 12 months also have dependents under the age of 21, who are also impacted by the diagnosis of breast cancer.
The cost of Bloomhill’s model of care for new cancer clients annually is currently $1454 and includes: initial assessment and 12 months ongoing support from its nursing, reception and administration services, and subsidised counselling, initial exercise physiology assessments, dietetics assessments, and group activities.
Breast cancer facts. Source: Cancer Council Queensland Sunshine Coast Cancer Statistics
- Breast cancer is the most diagnosed cancer in women on the Sunshine Coast, with more than 450 new cases every year and more than 70 deaths in 2018.
- The rate of diagnosis is increasing fast compared to less than 300 in 2000.
- Thanks to advances in science, 92 per cent of people diagnosed with breast cancer on the Sunshine Coast survive five years after diagnosis.
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