Cancer-care groups in bid to build support
Two major cancer-care organisations are joining forces to bring the vision of a patient wellbeing centre in Hobart to fruition.
Cancer Council Tasmania and the S.H.E. Gynaecological Cancer Group announced on Thursday a partnership to further develop the centre in the Royal Hobart Hospital precinct.
The plans for the centre were the vision of Tasmanian woman Jo Harris, who lost her battle with cancer last year at the age of 51.
Her husband,
Scott, has continued her legacy, as chairman of S. H. E Group, which supports those diagnosed with gynaecological cancers.
“We’re not the only who have been on this Mr Harris said.
“There are thousands of Tasmanians, Australians, who are dealing with this every day, we just want to make their lives a bit better by providing the best possible care and support.
“It is a lonely journey. You’re hit with a bunch of words you’ve never heard before in your life, it’s very hard to unpack some of that.”
Exactly what the centre will ones journey,” look like and how it will function is still in the works.
Mr Harris said there was a great need for the facility.
“Accommodation is a big issue for families coming down from the North and NorthWest. There’s no affordable accommodation for them,” Mr Harris said.
“This will provide navigation support and just comfort for people when they’re hearing the worst possible news (and ) that they’re surrounded by people who care and understand and walk that path.”
Mr Harris said there’d been a lot of hard work to get to this point. “There’s been times we could have easily given up on this, but it's too important an issue to stop,” he said.
“We’re keen to get this centre up and running as soon as possible, but we’ll take the time to get it right.”
Cancer Council Tasmania chief executive Alison Lai said the centre would make a huge difference.
“We’re going to be able to bring together our expertise on this project to make sure Tasmanians impacted by cancer can have access to the best possible care as they navigate their cancer journey,” Ms Lai said.
“We know almost every day there’s about 10 Tasmanians diagnosed with cancer.
“We know here through cancer council, we’re not seeing every single person who is diagnosed, sometimes it can come down to access.”
Ms Lai said the location would be a big help to patients.
“Having a site that’s located directly across from the Royal Hobart Hospital is going to be a game changer … and being able to get to a site that offers a beautiful sanctuary right across the road is going to make an incredible difference,” Ms Lai said.