Central Coast Local Health District (CCLHD) is encouraging residents to go dry this July to help the region’s cancer patients, their families and carers.
CCLHD’s CoastCanCare wellness program is a local beneficiary of the national Dry July campaign, with donations helping to fund free wellbeing and recovery activities.
Wendy of Killarney Vale experienced the CoastCanCare program following a lung cancer diagnosis in 2016.
“In the first year it kept me going,” she said.
“You look forward to talking to other people and learning from them and what they might be doing to help with their cancers and different ways of approaching things.”
Wendy has taken part in a range of CoastCanCare’s programs including art therapy, tai chi, meditation, physiotherapy, Aboriginal basket weaving and drumming.
In doing so she has built a network of friends who are there for one another through their individual cancer journeys.
“We give each other encouragement and give new members encouragement too,” she said.
“Being around people who have had similar experiences to you can have a big influence.”
Six years on from her initial diagnosis, Wendy believes the wellness program is a big part of why she is still here today.
“CoastCanCare provides vital programs which help people connect and provide each other with encouragement,” she said.
“It makes you want to keep living and beat the odds.”
A CCLHD spokesperson said by signing up to Dry July and giving up alcohol next month, residents will not only experience a range of benefits like sleeping better and thinking more clearly, but will help provide fellow Coasties with the support and strength they need to fight cancer.
Sign up for Dry July at https://www.dryjuly.com/beneficiaries/centralcoastlhd-coastcancare.
Source:
Media release, Jun 1
Central Coast Local Health District