Ms Yvonne Crestani has received a Woman of the Year Award, presented to her at NSW Parliament House by the state minister for women, Ms Prue Goward, for her contribution to educational scholarships for cancer therapists.
Ms Crestani was nominated by the member for Terrigal, Mr Adam Crouch. The award recognises the outstanding contribution women across NSW make to industry, community and society. At the award presentation, Ms Crestani said: “I share this recognition with our volunteers, the Scholarships in Radiotherapy Group. “It is through their commitment that we are able to bring the best possible radiotherapy treatment to the Central Coast Cancer Centre.
“Without them, we would not be here in this historic house.” Members of the Crestani family and the Scholarships in Radiotherapy group attended the ceremony in Macquarie St, Sydney. Ms Crestani also paid tribute to others who contribute to the Scholarship Program. “Many people share in this acknowledgement, not only the volunteers, but the expert medical team at the Cancer Centre whose directive we follow.
“Then there are the Scholarships Recipients who put in the hard yards to achieve our objective. “We have donors, musicians, entertainers, caterers and the guests who attend our functions, all of whom contribute to our fund. “These people donate their time, talent and their money. “And fi nally, we salute the brave people who have a diagnosis of cancer, their carers and the people who love them. “They are truly on our pedestal. “We are all part of a common goal.” Adam Chandler, chief radiotherapist at the Central Coast Cancer Centre at Gosford Hospital said: “In 2014, the Central Coast Cancer Centre asked a small team of multi-disciplinary staff to investigate the feasibility of implementing Stereotactic Ablative Body Radiotherapy (SABR).
“The team advised that a high quality SABR program could be implemented but specialised radiation therapist training would be required to ensure the safety and quality of the program. “The Scholarships in Radiotherapy group led by Yvonne Crestani offered to raise the funds required to send a Radiation Therapist (Rebecca Cone) to the European Society for Radiotherapy and Oncology (ESTRO) advanced SABR training school in Europe. “Rebecca completed her training in September 2014 and brought back the skills and experience to safely implement the SABR program which has now successfully treated 18 patients. “She now trains other therapists at Gosford and Newcastle Hospitals, and at Newcastle University.
“In 2015, the Scholarships for Radiotherapy group offered to again donate the necessary funding to send Central Coast Cancer Centre staff for formal training in SRS. “Another small multidisciplinary group evaluated the feasibility of an SRS program and advised that it could be successfully implemented with specialised physicist and radiation therapist training. “Using a similar quality and safety framework as the SABR program, Central Coast Cancer Centre is expected to be able to treat up to 20 patients annually with this advanced treatment option, mainly in treatment patients with Brain Tumours. “This successful community and health service partnership now aims to provide specialised training scholarships on an annual basis,” Mr Chandler said.
Email, Apr 8, 2016 Syd Fabri, Scholarships in Radiotherapy Statement, October 2015 Adam Chandler, Central Coast Local Health District