CANCER services in FNQ will grow thanks to the community rolling up its sleeves to take cancer care to the next level.
The Cancer Care Hub being developed by the Far North Queensland Hospital Foundation in conjunction with the Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Service, will mean more patients can access more treatments closer to home and ultimately have better outcomes.
Taking patient care to the next level is the catch-cry of the new campaign which will mean less cancer patients have to travel south for treatment, more will live longer with cancer as new treatments are discovered, more can be treated each day, chemotherapy manufacturing will be expanded on site and inpatients will have a more peaceful treatment experience.
The Far North Queensland Hospital Foundation has launched an ambitious but achievable $1.5 million campaign to help move cancer and haematology services towards tertiary status.
Foundation CEO Gina Hogan said there had been a 40 per cent increase in cancer activity at the Liz Plummer Cancer Care Centre in the past five years.
This is primarily because of the vast array of cancer treatments now available – people are living longer with cancer, rather than dying prematurely.
“The overall cost of the work is $3.4 million and we’re delighted to partner with the health service as we did with the Cardiac Catheter Laboratory, to bring this project to fruition,” Mrs Hogan said.
Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Service acting Chief Executive Jeremy Wellwood said “We are delighted that this joint funding arrangement with $1.9 million from Queensland Health and $1.5 million via donations to the Far North Queensland Hospital Foundation, will enable us to bring forward the development of the Cancer Care Hub at Cairns Hospital.
“We know cancer is the greatest cause of premature death in our region,” Dr Wellwood said.
“We also know local demand for cancer services is outstripping population growth and this development will help us meet the needs of patients into the future,” he said.
“With the advent of immunotherapy in particular, patients are living longer and receiving more anticancer treatment than ever before. Immunotherapy has revolutionised the treatment of many cancers. For metastatic melanoma the average survival for patients used to be 6-9 months, but with immunotherapy use over the last 5-10 years, the average survival is now up to six years for combination treatment.”
The expansion within the Liz Plummer Cancer Care Centre (Block E) will include providing more chemotherapy treatment chairs, and expand the number of clinical treatment rooms to enable more patients to be seen.
As well, clinicians hope the extra treatment rooms will open the door to head and neck cancer patients being treated locally rather than travelling to Townsville or Brisbane.
The cancer pharmacy department also will expand to enable them to compound their own treatments for individual patients rather than it being flown up which has its own logistical difficulties.
In addition, the Cancer Care ward on level four of D Block Cairns Hospital, will relocate to level two to create more of a “hub” closer to the Cancer Care Centre in E Block via the Lake Street Level 2 linkway. The new ward will be designed to meet the specific needs of cancer patients. It also will include large, dedicated patient and family spaces (outside the ward) to allow space for wholistic care and sometimes difficult discussions.
On that level, there is an established outdoor area that will be re-purposed for patients and families to breathe fresh air and look out to the ocean and mountains. Moving to level 2 also will enable more spaces to be provided for allied health professionals to perform their work.
About $100, 000 quarantined from Unit’s Jetski Fundrun (also known as the Seafari Jetski Event) will be put towards the campaign.
Mrs Hogan called on the community to dig as deep as they could to bring the extra services to fruition. “We know the community can do it. They’ve done it before with the cardiac catheter laboratory, the endoscopy campaign, and the playground.
“Cancer is a disease that will affect a third of us directly and all of us indirectly in one way or another. This is a powerful way that people can make a real, tangible difference to help the outcomes of their loved ones or even themselves,” Mrs Hogan said.
“Because of our cafes, carpark, ATM and vending machines, all our administrative costs are covered which means EVERY cent we receive towards this campaign will go exactly where it’s intended,” she said.
She urged the community to donate via www.fnqhf.org.au/cancercarehub or contact the Foundation’s fundraising team to talk about how to bring the campaign to fruition.
Faces of the campaign
Gemma Theophile: Wife, mother, daughter and breast cancer patient. She has endured a double mastectomy, chemotherapy, radiation and has now started five to 10 years of hormone blockers to put her into early menopause.
Rex Cashion: Rex was diagnosed with bowel cancer eight years ago and after two operations, now takes daily oral chemotherapy. “There’s no cure for it, it’s going to get me, but I’m ok for now.”
Sarah Bensted: Sarah was treated exclusively in Cairns for advanced stage Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. Treatment concluded in December 2019 and Sarah has gone on to complete a law degree and is about to graduate.
The facts
* Cancer is the greatest cause of premature death within the CHHHS region
* Premature mortality from cancer is higher in the CHHHS region compared to the state average (for the whole population and also for First Nations people, compared to Queensland)
* Highest volumes of cancer seen within the CHHHS are for melanoma, prostate cancer, colorectal cancer, breast cancer and lung cancer
* CHHHS has higher rates of head and neck cancer compared to the state average
* Day oncology units in Innisfail, Atherton and telehealth outreach units in Cooktown, Weipa and Thursday Island offer both clinics and treatment.
* There has been a 40% increase in ambulatory activity delivered in the Liz Plummer Oncology Day Unit in the last five years and this will likely continue as immunotherapy is found to be beneficial for more and more cancers
* The Cancer Care Ward is used for patients undergoing more complicated treatment regimes
* Liz Plummer Cancer Care Centre had a 40% increase in activity in the past five years
* Since opening on June 27, 2011 the Liz Plummer Cancer Care Centre has provided:
* 15,640 patients through clinics
* 148, 652 clinic appointment
* 6, 117 patients have received treatment
* Nursing Occasions of service 340, 562
* Pharmacy have processed around 67, 000 bags of chemotherapy
UNITED FRONT: Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Service acting Chief Executive Dr Jeremy Wellwood, patient Rex Cashion, CHHHS Chair Dr Clive Skarott, Foundation CEO Gina Hogan and Foundation Chair Dr Ken Chapman.
