HELPING HANDS: Blush Cancer Care committee members Sarah Wielandt (left) and Gaye Foot (right) with Warwick Hospital staff (from left) Maria Tahir, Tim Venz, Thomas Whelan-Young, Julianne Gray, Tegan Corby and Belinda Black will be bringing the Blush patient forum to Warwick.
HELPING HANDS: Blush Cancer Care committee members Sarah Wielandt (left) and Gaye Foot (right) with Warwick Hospital staff (from left) Maria Tahir, Tim Venz, Thomas Whelan-Young, Julianne Gray, Tegan Corby and Belinda Black will be bringing the Blush patient forum to Warwick. Contributed

Blush goes bush to help

A NEW forum coming to Warwick is shining a light on services for breast cancer survivors.

The Toowoomba-based patient care service Blush has been supporting patients in the Garden City through their battles, and is now turning its focus to the wider region.

Committee member Sarah Wielandt said keeping the cancer conversation alive was the goal behind Blush Going Bush.

"We started out as a fundraising committee with St Vincent's and St Andrew's Hospitals and last year became our own organisation,” Mrs Wielandt said.

"We had seen a lot of other fundraising efforts go to Brisbane, or to broader research, and though research is important our funds go directly to patient care and support.

"About three years ago we started doing some one-day patient forums where people going through breast cancer could come along and learn more about what services and support are available to them.

"For the first time we are delivering this forum to Warwick, Goondiwindi and other regional centres.”

The patient forum will come to the Rose City on August 28.

Medical and allied health workers can attend a tailored forum in the evening.

The event will include a discussion on regional medicine and presentations from local physiotherapist Sally Lancaster and exercise physiologist Peter Wallace.

Blush breast cancer nurse Gaye Foot said Blush hoped to better educate women about the ongoing complications of treatment.

"There are a lot of people out there who don't realise there can be issues that continue long after their treatment has finished,” Mrs Foot said.

"A lot of women tend to suffer in silence without knowing what kind of help is out there and available to them.

"We want to show them that they don't necessarily need to go to Brisbane or even Toowoomba to access different services during and after their treatment.”

Mrs Wielandt said the Blush Committee hoped to finalise venue and registration details for the forum in the next week.

To stay up to date with the upcoming forums, find Blush Cancer Care Inc on Facebook.



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