INCREASING demand for treatment of breast cancer and advanced skin cancer, prompted the call to fundraise for Gamma Detection Probes through the BDO Arrow Experience.
Cairns Hospital plastic surgeon Dr Kristian Sørensen said with Far North Queensland being the skin cancer capital of Australia per head of population, if not the world, there was an increasing demand for complex treatments.
“An important step in the management of skin and breast cancer, is to perform a sentinel lymph node biopsy when this is indicated,” Dr Sørensen said.
“By analysing whether this lymph node has cancer in it, it helps guide decision making about what stage the cancer is and whether additional therapies, such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy, need to be given in addition to surgical treatments. Knowing information about the sentinel lymph node, can also help guide selection into medical trials.
“The team and I are really excited that the Hospital Foundation, through the BDO Arrow Experience, is fundraising for this equipment which will make a difference to untold patients in the region. It will mean we can perform this procedure on more patients each week, which gives them more certainty with their treatment,” he said.
Foundation CEO Gina Hogan said the equipment would make a big difference to many patients throughout the region.
“The BDO Arrow Experience was a fun walk of two or four of the arrows of Mt Whitfield, participants can register as individuals or a team, we bus them to the start and they head off for a lovely walk through the rainforest for a good cause,” Mrs Hogan said.
“It shows the importance of what the community does with us, every day. Taking part in a fundraising activity can make a real tangible difference in a patient’s life and we’re hearing that today,” Mrs Hogan said.
• Every cent donated to the Far North Queensland Hospital Foundation, goes where it’s intended because the Foundation’s commercial activities cover ALL administration costs. In 2022, the Foundation celebrates its 25th birthday and $25 million contributed to improving health outcomes in that time.
Photo: Cairns Hospital plastic surgeon Dr Kristian Sørensen and Foundation CEO Gina Hogan discuss the benefits the neoprobes will bring to cancer patients in FNQ.
