Rotary District 9815 hosted their Gala in November with close to 150 attendees gathering at Alencia in Dandenong in support of the incredible work that the District does.
This year, District 9815 is working tirelessly to raise crucial funding for a highly specialised apheresis nursing role at the Monash Children’s Cancer Centre.
“The event was so special, and reinforced just how strong the relationship is between Monash Health and Rotary,” said Ron Fairchild, Director of the Monash Health Foundation.
Children with high-risk cancers require very high doses of chemotherapy and radiation. However, sometimes their body cannot withstand the strength of the treatment for long enough to cure their disease and treatment must stop.
Apheresis therapy uses the child’s own stem cells, extracted, strengthened & reintroduced to the child’s body at a crucial time, enabling them to withstand higher doses of chemotherapy and radiation, significantly improving their chance of survival.
Currently, patients being treated for certain paediatric cancers need to travel elsewhere to receive this component of their treatment protocol, which is not ideal given the strong relationships they have developed with the nurses at Monash.
For more details on why having this apheresis nursing service onsite at Monash Children’s is so important, you can check out this video, featuring patient Ada and her mum Zilan, alongside paediatric oncologist, Dr Michelle Martin from the Monash Children’s Cancer Centre.
Zilan, patient Ada and Paediatric Oncologist, Dr Michelle Martin at Monash Children’s Hospital
We are thrilled to announce that the event raised more than $22,000 toward the funding of this essential service.
Congratulations to the team at Rotary District 9815, in particular, Leanne Byron, for her passion and commitment to this incredibly important area.
L-R: Ron Fairchild (Director, Monash Health Foundation) John Heath (Director, Monash Children’s Cancer Centre) Leanne Byron (Rotary District 9815 Youth Chair) Colin Byron (Rotary District 9815 Governor) Peter Behm (District 9815 Governor Elect) Dr Michelle Martin, (Paediatric Oncologist at Monash Children’s Cancer Centre) and Emma Clark, (District Governor Nominee)
