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‘They wrapped their arms around me’: Vicki Scott tells of importance of local cancer treatment
For Mooroopna’s Vicki Scott, finding out she had bowel cancer last year was life-changing.
But knowing she could do all her chemotherapy and radiotherapy while staying at home was incredible.
Ms Scott is now a GV Health Foundation ambassador, which she sees as a way to give back to those who helped her and help others diagnosed with cancer.
“I feel honoured to be asked to be the inaugural ambassador,” she said.
As part of her role, Ms Scott spoke at the GV Health Foundation Ladies Who Lunch event on Sunday, October 29.
Ms Scott was diagnosed with stage four bowel cancer in March last year.
As part of her cancer treatment, she had 24 weeks of chemotherapy and five weeks of radiation.
“Being able to have all the treatment here (in Shepparton) helped me a lot mentally,” she said.
“Having oncology services here, to me, massively impacted on my journey.”
Ms Scott said it was not just being able to have treatment in Shepparton that helped, but also knowing there was help close by when she had any problems.
“To me, it was this army of support,” she said.
“They wrapped their arms around me.”
Ms Scott is now cancer-free.
But having had cancer still affects her life.
She had to have a bowel resection and, as a result, now has a permanent colostomy bag.
But she does not let that stop her from doing the things she wants to do.
“I’m still living my life,” she said.
“I’m very grateful that every day I get the chance to wake up and be upright.
“I decided to make the journey public and share it with others in the hope of inspiring others.
“Life does go on.”
Ms Scott was part of a panel of speakers at the lunch.
Joining her were Goulburn Valley Health oncology breast cancer nurse Melissa Gilmour and Goulburn Valley Health medical oncology clinical director Dr Javier Torres.
Dr Torres told the crowd how patients could access anti-cancer treatments, including chemotherapy, immunotherapy, targeted therapy, hormone treatment and radiation therapy in Shepparton.
He also highlighted the way the team in Shepparton worked with metropolitan hospitals, including St Vincent’s Hospital and the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, where patients might have an operation in Melbourne but then receive chemotherapy in Shepparton.
Dr Torres also spoke of how clinical trials for some cancer treatments, including breast cancer, were available in Shepparton.
This allows patients to access new medications that would not be available otherwise.
Ms Gilmour has worked for many years in the oncology department in Shepparton and spoke of the growth she had seen in the services offered.
In her role alone, the number of support nurses has jumped from two when she started to six now — with two breast cancer nurses, two prostate cancer nurses, one bowel cancer nurse and a cancer co-ordinator.
She also told of how patients could not only access cancer treatment in Shepparton but also lots of other support services that were available, including links with dieticians, palliative care, and pain management and psychology specialists.
“It’s not a matter of just coming to have treatment, but it is also to support our patients and their families,” Ms Gilmour said.