Cancer Care Western NSW Inc. was established in January 2007.
We lobby Government for accessible radiotherapy and cancer treatment options for the people of Central and Western New South Wales.
We provide affordable self-care accommodation for those having treatment at Orange Health Service. We service a population of around 300,000.
On the 19th May 2014 the final stage of Western Care Lodge was opened by Orange Mayor and our Patron, John Davis O.A.M, who was then Mayor of Orange.
Our modern Lodge provides 22 ensuite rooms, outdoor courtyards, dining, kitchen, lounge, laundry and library facilities. It is situated in the gardens of Orange Health Service, close to treatment facilities.
Fundraising continues to ensure that the Lodge and gardens are well maintained and that our furniture and fittings are replaced if necessary. Your donations enable our guests to continue to enjoy affordable quality accommodation.
Cancer Care Western NSW Inc. provided substantial seed funding and support for a Clinical Trials Unit at Orange Health Service which was formally established in 2016. Since then, Medical Oncologist Doctor Rob Zielinski and his team have expanded the trials at a rapid rate. The Clinical Trials Unit has had many successes and won the 2017 NSW Premier’s Award for Outstanding Cancer Research and the 2017 Australasian Gastro Intestinal Trials Group Outstanding Site Award.
In early 2021 the Clinical Trials Unit had 77 patients receiving treatment on a trial. A further 92 patients were being followed up regularly to attend the clinics. There are active trials currently occurring for the following disease types; Lung cancer, Cannabis symptom control, Pleural effusion study, Ovarian cancer, Solid tumour, Head and neck, Prostate, Mesothelioma, Peripheral neuropathy, Lymphoma, Multiple Myeloma and Acute myeloid leukemia. The Unit is now totally self-funding with revenue from per patient payments coming from pharma companies and collaborative groups. There are 9 staff.
If you are interested in donating please visit our Donate Now page for all your payment options.
Providing affordable self-care accommodation to those undergoing treatment at Orange Health Service.
Patron
Stuart Porges OAM, MB BS FRACS
Stuart Porges was a General Surgeon in Orange, also working at other smaller western towns, from 1977 until about 2004. He had a special interest in breast cancer especially in the later years of his career and was very concerned about the lack of radiotherapy services in Western NSW, with many patients either needing to travel long distance for treatment or unfortunately forgoing radiotherapy and sustaining inferior cure rates.
In 1995 Stuart was very involved in pushing to have a Breast Screen centre in Orange, in 2010 to have radiotherapy included in the new Orange Hospital at the Bloomfield site, and in October 2011 the development of Western Care Lodge to accommodate cancer patients from Western NSW, having radiotherapy in Orange.
Stuart is a long serving member on the Cancer Care Western NSW Board.
Executive
Click here to view a short profile of the Executive and Board Members.
Board Members
Stuart Porges
Reg Kidd
Dr Jamie Gordon
Helen Miller
Bruce Holman
Danielle Stringer
Katie Baddock
Sophie Durham
Governance
ABN 88 995 371 685 Deductible recipient status from 1 March, 2007 pursuant to the Income Tax Assessment and GST and FBT exemptions from that date. Charitable Fundraising Number 20279 (NSW Department of Fair Trading).“Supporting patients and their families with affordable, comfortable accommodation during treatment at Orange Health Service.”
Core Elements:
- Accommodation
- Western Care lodge always aims to provide a welcoming, comfortable and safe environment for its guests and staff.
- Fundraising
- Fundraising continues to ensure that the Lodge is well maintained and that our furniture and fittings are replaced if necessary and enable our guests to continue to enjoy affordable quality accommodation.
- Supporting patients.
Secondary Elements:
- Advocacy
- We lobby Government for accessible radiotherapy and cancer treatment options for the people of Central and Western New South Wales. With the welcome development of the Western Cancer Centre, coordination of the services between Orange and Dubbo needs to be carefully managed so as to not degrade services to either treatment centre.
- Future generations
- The opportunity to expand our contact and referrals from GP’s and specialists through the use of multi media will enable us to attract cancer patients from a wider geographic area.
- Support the establishment of interactive VR cancer education tools.
- Clinical trials
- Cancer Care Western continues to support the Clinical Trial Centre at Central West Cancer Care Centre as and when required.