Dry July funds at Waikato Cancer Centre have benefited patients and their families.

A quote below from a staff member:

Below is a photo of the first few magazines that have arrived (there will be more!). I have just taken them down to chemo and they were very well received. I also had some more very positive feedback about the flowers so that's great!

The program commenced 4th July 2017. The feedback has been extremely positive as we connect with communities introducing the new program.

There is much to be done to really spread the word and help generate an understanding of how the program works, and more importantly, how men will benefit. But we are very happy to have the program rolled out in the early stages and begin helping men face their cancer with more strength and confidence.

Feedback below:

“Many thanks to you and Rachel from New Plymouth for such a wonderful morning with the Men’s “Look Good Feel Strong” programme that was hosted here this morning. It was a huge success! The take home packs were full of goodies and appreciated along with the magazine. Compliments and comments were plentiful” Cancer Society Whangarei (location for launch)

Comments made at launch;

“Best support group ever”

“That was excellent”

“Better than sliced bread”

‘Very valuable’

“Picked up a few clues and learnt some things”

“Feel like a million dollars”

“Now off to lunch in town and am going to glow”

“A lady in the supermarket last week - who I didn't know came up to me and said " excuse me are you the lady who had your photo in the paper contacted to a Men's Cancer workshop?" I said I was. She then said " One of the Men who was at the workshop lived down the road from her and had told her all about it, shown her the photo and article, she wanted to say a special thank you to me for putting it on. The gentleman had told all his neighbours, she said he was very impressed. She promptly gave me a hug and said " thanks" and was on her way. A very special moment, I was walking on air for the rest of the day.” Robin – Volunteer

The patient day room is now in operation . Patients and whanau are delighted and using the area at a level not seen with our old fit out. There are now individual areas where patients can meet with their families, share a meal, watch television, make food/drinks, or just spend time away from their rooms in comfort. The space is warm in the cold and has blinds to provide shade in the sun.

This is due to the great contributions of Dry July participants to whom Dry July and the Centre are extremely grateful

Dry July has funded a number of items for this facility including a dishwasher, fridge, comfortable couch and artwork decorating the walls. 

Some feedback:

• Numerous patients have commented on how beautiful and tasteful the artwork is.

• Having a dishwasher and fridge in our own area has been really helpful as the Cancer Society volunteers and staff use these facilities every day for patient care.

• The couch is a comfortable place for patient and visitors to wait and relax

Thanks to a Dry July grant,  Improved kitchen facilities for patients and nursing staff are now being used at Dunedin Hospital.