Wonthaggi Hospital will buy life-improving medical equipment thanks to fundraising by the Inverloch Fundraising Auxiliary, supported by the Inverloch Lions Club and community.
The hospital will buy a SOZO machine for the early detection and management of lymphoedema.
Lymphoedema is a common side effect of cancer treatment and occurs when lymphatic vessels or nodes have been damaged or are not formed properly. Left untreated, this leads to progressive swelling over time.
Until now, cancer patients at Wonthaggi Hospital have been monitored for lymphoedema before and throughout treatment, using a SOZO machine usually based at the Phillip Island Community Hospital at Cowes. The new, second machine will remain at Wonthaggi Hospital, benefiting patients by offering more monitoring.
The Inverloch Fundraising Auxiliary raised $18,050 to enable Bayside Health to buy the SOZO machine, including a $8,000 donation from the Inverloch Lions Club. The remaining funds were raised through selling hand-made cards, holding barbecues and other initiatives.
Bayside Health Regional Chief Executive Lou Sparkes said the SOZO machine will enhance quality of life for cancer and other patients.
"Monitoring and early management of lymphoedema allows clinicians to make changes to a patient’s care plan to hopefully restrict the extent of swelling they experience, and therefore allow them to partake in more of the activities they enjoy,” she said.
"Bayside Health is grateful for the generosity and dedication shown by the Inverloch Fundraising Auxiliary, the Inverloch Lions Club and the broader community who supported the extensive fundraising these amazing groups do. We’re so fortunate to be surrounded by a community that’s so willing to give so that we can enhance the care we provide, closer to home.”
Bayside Health Regional Lymphoedema Practitioner Michelle McMahon and Fundraising and Volunteer Manager Kerry Redmond hold the cheque in front of the Sozo Machine.