Chris O'Brien Lifehouse

Tickets are selling fast to Give it a Crack for Chris O'Brien Lifehouse. Huge thanks The Comedy Store for your ongoing support.
Get your tickets now for a hilarious night of comedy with Lifehouse standup stalwart David Smiedt and first-time comedians Caroline Searcy and Anthony Meleca along with the winners of the Raw Comedy Festival in Melbourne.
Masters Games gold medalist Kerry McEvoy is the host and it's all taking place at the Bavarian Bier Café in The Entertainment Quarter.

At Lifehouse we see our patients and their carers as part of our family. Having family to support you through your cancer treatment is vital. The Malki and Benchoam family know this only too well.
Sil Malki explains, “Cely Malki Benchoam (along with my mum Sandra) was our family matriarch. She recently passed away from mesothelioma after a two-year battle. Her son David Benchoam was to join the Outback Trek in May last year but subsequently pulled out to take care of his mu...m in her final days.”
As a sign of their gratitude to Lifehouse for looking after Cely and also treating her cousin Roger (David's brother), Sil and David have signed up to Walk with Lifehouse. Sil will lead Team Benchoam on the 28k challenge in October. Good luck Team Benchoam and thank you!
Early Bird registration for Walk With Lifehouse ends today - sign up today! http://donate.mylifehouse.org.au/even…/ …/walk-with-lifehouse
Pictured (L-R) David, Cely, Sil and Roger.
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Despite their size, elephants are no more prone to getting cancer than smaller animals. This goes against expectations because cancer arises as a mutation when our cells divide. And to grow that big, a lot of cells have to divide. So, what’s so special about elephants?
Scientists have been pondering cancer in large animals since the 1970s to gain a better understanding of the disease. Last week researchers from the The University of Chicago found a piece of the puzzle in elephant DNA. Elephants have two genes that behave differently and both seem to have cancer-fighting properties.
This fascinating article by Carl Zimmer in the The New York Times explores the detail of this genetic defence system.

We are super proud of Justine and Sarah, Australia's only two active head and neck cancer nurse practitioners. Becoming a nurse practitioner is the clinical pinnacle of a nurse's career and requires many years of practice and a master's degree.
The nurses credit Prof Chris O'Brien as their inspiration. "He lifted us to achieve things we never thought we could achieve," said Justine.
Sarah and Justine have opened a new head an neck rapid assessment clinic at Chris O'Brien Lif...ehouse. Any past or present head and neck patients can call the clinic Monday to Friday for a rapid assessment of their symptoms and needs.
Sarah and Justine hope this will help patients avoid being admitted to hospital or having to wait around emergency rooms to receive treatment.
If you are a present or past head and neck patient of Lifehouse and wish to be seen in the rapid assessment clinic, call 0428 403 117.
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"I have family and friends who love me and help me celebrate special times, I have so much stuff, I go to a great school and I get to do so much.
But, I miss my Nonna Tina and I want my Dad to get better.
My Dad and others with cancer can only get better if researchers find cures for cancer.
... Research takes lots of time and money. I can't give the cancer researchers my time, but I can help raise some money."
Matteo's Dad, Mark, is being treated at Lifehouse. For his 11th birthday he asked his family and friends to donate to Lifehouse rather than buy presents. He thought he might raise $100 - he raised $950!
Thank you Matteo, for giving hope, you're very special.
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Barnaby Howarth knows about resilience. He’s faced numerous challenges in his life but the biggest was losing his wife to breast cancer. Now he's hearing from others who have faced difficulties and come out the other side.
In this episode of Everyday Greatness Barnaby talks to Gail O’Brien about what it’s like to be on both sides of a cancer diagnosis and how knowing she really understands and cares, having lived it herself, is a help to our patients.
The conversation ranges across diverse topics including what it means to be nice, how we all build resilience through experiencing life’s challenges and what makes Gail happiest.

Eddy Furlong is a patient, a writer and a photographer. During his visits to Chris O'Brien Lifehouse for radiation therapy, Eddy has captured some lovely shots of our people and has written the story of his visits to accompany them.
Thank you Eddy Furlong Photography for sharing your story. It's not every day that the experience of receiving radiation treatment is told so lyrically and with such beautiful sentiment.
#HumansofLifehouse

Radiation therapy is vital in the treatment of many types of cancer. Watch this informative video to understand how it works and learn about the latest developments in treatment like MRI-guided radiotherapy and proton therapy.

Just 2 years ago Luke Jones ran City2Surf for Lifehouse, this year he's taking on the Triathlon World Championship. We are so grateful for his continued support and wish him well in his training. Go for gold, Luke!

Having trouble getting more vegetables into your diet?
A high vegetable intake has been associated with a lower risk for some types of cancer, as well as the overall health benefits we all know about.
But sometimes making them a staple part of your diet can be hard. Maybe you don't have a lot of time to cook or live somewhere remote where getting fresh vegetables is a challenge.
... Maybe you just don't like them.
Here are some handy tips to help you up those veggie levels.
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This article gives a thorough explanation of treatment options for pancreatic cancer, which took Aretha Franklin’s life on Thursday. Pancreatic cancer is hard to detect early but Matthew Herper says there is hope for those with a family history in that there may be an identifiable gene mutation which could be picked up in screening. There is a long way to go to successfully detect and treat this rare cancer.

Ahead of a special meeting of the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee today to explore making immunotherapy used to treat cancer more affordable, The Feed SBS VICELAND talks to Lifehouse medical oncologist Dr Steven Kao about this promising new class of drugs.

A recent survey by the new National Oncology Alliance has uncovered that at least 3,500 patients across Australia are spending more than $60,000 to access lifesaving medicines that are not list on the PBS.
NOA is calling for an overhaul of the way the Government subsidises new treatments to make them accessible to patients in need.
Watch Lifehouse Chief Clinical Officer Professor Michael Boyer discussing the topic on 7 News Sydney

Physicists from Lifehouse and the University of Sydney have developed a theory which could improve the way radiation treatment is delivered.
The theory is based on the 'bystander effect' where radiation is delivered in stripes across a tumour. The cells that receive the radiation send a signal to the neighbouring cells, which then also die.
The dose of radiation used to kill the cancer cells could be halved using this method, resulting in less side effects for patients.
... Proving this theory is only the first step in bringing the method into clinical practice. It now needs to be tested on animals and then in clinical trials.
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Oncology nurses: join us and learn about the latest developments in head and neck cancer. Topics include body image in the context of head and neck cancer, patient experience, the role of the nurse practitioner and the latest in chemotherapy, radiotherapy and immunotherapy.

The calm before the City2Surf storm. Wishing our 100 runners the best of luck today. We will be cheering you on. Go Team Lifehouse.

When 76-year-old Elaine Madden from Port Macquarie went to her dentist about her bleeding gums, she wasn’t expecting a cancer diagnosis. A biopsy confirmed squamous cell carcinoma on the side of the tongue. Because Elaine had limited lung function, she was considered a high-risk candidate for surgery and was referred to head and neck surgeon Associate Professor Carsten Palme in Sydney.
Luckily for Elaine and other regional patients, our head and neck service runs a follow up ...clinic in Port Macquarie where she can see A/Prof Palme once a month.
She says, “If people can receive a diagnosis and follow up treatment in Port Macquarie and not have to travel to Sydney, I feel like half their battle has been won.”
“Not having to take the long road trip each month means the world! I’m fortunate that my husband can still drive and I have people in Sydney I can stay with, but for most elderly people it wouldn’t be so easy and they wouldn’t be able to afford the trips to Sydney.”
Read the full article in Focus Mag.
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A beautiful portrayal of Australian maestro Richard Gill, who is also one of our patients.
Gill is a tour de force of the national music scene and is extremely passionate about music education.
“If we had music in every single school, especially preschools through to grade six, the face of the country would change,”
... He remains positive about his cancer.
“They are trying to sort me out,” he says. “I think my time is limited. But my view is that while I’ve got life, and while there’s hope, I’m battling on.”
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Very friendly staff and Doctors.

Clean facilities and modern equipment in a relaxed environment