CANCER patients in Cairns Hospital will be more comfortable and have better treatment, thanks to jetski riders.
Some of the funds raised from the annual Trinity Powersports Sea-Fari jetski island hop on Australia Day, have gone towards a bladder scanner and special cooling fans in the Cancer Care Ward at Cairns Hospital.
The Trinity Powersports Sea-Fari is a jetski powered island hop through the Great Barrier Reef’s iconic northern waters – between Yorkeys Knob and Port Douglas, on Australia Day each year.
Considered one of the most spectacular jet-ski routes in the world, the event raises money for the Cancer Care Ward at Cairns Hospital via donations to the Far North Queensland Hospital Foundation. The funds raised are used to enrich the lives of people undergoing treatment for cancer in Far North Queensland.
Sea-Fari is in memory of Cairns Hospital cancer patient Brian "Unit" Wilson whose vision for an aquatic fundraising event has generated more than $140,000 since its inception in 2011.
Foundation CEO Tony Franz said the $21,000 contribution would help make cancer treatment a little more comfortable.
“We all know cancer is a difficult diagnosis to contend with, but these items can go some way to making treatment a little more comfortable,” Mr Franz said.
Cancer Care Ward Nurse Unit Manager Danielle Peever said the bladder scanner would be used daily in the unit.
“What it does, is measures bladder volume non-invasively, helps prevent unnecessary catheterisation, improves efficiency and reduces unnecessary patient movement,” Ms Peever said.
“This is extremely beneficial to patients who may be debilitated due to increased pain and suffering due to their diagnosis or treatment,” she said.
The eight Dyson bladeless fans are particularly beneficial for cancer patients in hospital, as their temperature regulation can be affected by tumours.
“Some patients can suffer on a roller coaster of uncontrollable of hot and cold within minutes – shivering uncontrollably with cold and then within minutes feeling like they are in a volcano. This can also be from the chemotherapy or due to infection. As much as the hospital is air conditioned, sometimes individual patients need more intense cooling which these fans provide,” Ms Peever said.
Photo: Cairns Hospital Cancer Care Ward staff Jazmin Yendall, Mat Greener, Dr Brian Bolbol, Jisha Ittiavirah, Samjhana Shrestha and Nurse Unit Manager Danielle Peever with the new Dyson fans and bladder scanner, funded by the Trinity Powersports Sea-Fari.
