20-year-old Josh Griffiths knows more than most what it means to go the distance for cancer treatment. Josh was living in Adelaide, enjoying the first few months of his new career in the Army when he discovered a lump in his neck. After a PET scan, he received the news no one deserves to hear.
“I had expected the worst, but when they told me it was cancer, I just felt angry,” Josh recalls. “I had gone through a full year of Army training, just to get cancer.”
Josh had synovial sarcoma, a rare form of soft tissue cancer. As the highest volume treatment centre for sarcoma in NSW, Chris O’Brien Lifehouse was recommended to Josh as the best place for treatment. His parents Ian and Lisa helped Josh pack up his belongings into the back of his car, and together they made the 16-hour drive back to Sydney.
“Much of the trip we were without mobile coverage or WiFi, so we could process what we’d just learnt,” says Ian, Josh’s dad.
“Despite the circumstances, it was a special time. We reforged an even stronger closeness of father, mother and child cementing a camaraderie where we agreed that we ‘had this’, that we would ‘beat this’.”
Unfortunately, the long trips didn’t end there. The Griffiths family live in Gosford, so his mum and dad were grateful to stay at the Sony Foundation You Can Centre at Chris O’Brien Lifehouse while Josh received treatment. Being so close together was an immense comfort to the whole family.
“As a close-knit family, this meant the world to us,” recalls Ian. “The support services at Chris O’Brien Lifehouse removed an element of the stress and uncertainty we were feeling. Knowing we had the refuge of the You Can Centre meant we didn’t need to think about finding accommodation and parking, not to mention traveling upwards of 3 hours each day. It was one less obstacle to navigate.”
"Support services helped make this time a little easier, by alleviating some of the worry and apprehension we were experiencing."
Receiving cancer treatment far from home is tough.
Long trips to the city, the expense of accommodation and being separated from home and family can make the challenges of treatment so much harder.
At Chris O’Brien Lifehouse, the generosity of our donors helps provide a range of holistic support services that help ease the burden of distance for regional patients, so they can access world-class, comprehensive cancer care.
If you’d like to help ease the burden of distance for patients like Josh, why not make a journey of your own? Sign up to Go The Distance this September and every km you cover will help bring cancer care closer to home for regional Australians.
“I had expected the worst, but when they told me it was cancer, I just felt angry,” Josh recalls. “I had gone through a full year of Army training, just to get cancer.”
Josh had synovial sarcoma, a rare form of soft tissue cancer. As the highest volume treatment centre for sarcoma in NSW, Chris O’Brien Lifehouse was recommended to Josh as the best place for treatment. His parents Ian and Lisa helped Josh pack up his belongings into the back of his car, and together they made the 16-hour drive back to Sydney.
“Much of the trip we were without mobile coverage or WiFi, so we could process what we’d just learnt,” says Ian, Josh’s dad.
“Despite the circumstances, it was a special time. We reforged an even stronger closeness of father, mother and child cementing a camaraderie where we agreed that we ‘had this’, that we would ‘beat this’.”
Unfortunately, the long trips didn’t end there. The Griffiths family live in Gosford, so his mum and dad were grateful to stay at the Sony Foundation You Can Centre at Chris O’Brien Lifehouse while Josh received treatment. Being so close together was an immense comfort to the whole family.
“As a close-knit family, this meant the world to us,” recalls Ian. “The support services at Chris O’Brien Lifehouse removed an element of the stress and uncertainty we were feeling. Knowing we had the refuge of the You Can Centre meant we didn’t need to think about finding accommodation and parking, not to mention traveling upwards of 3 hours each day. It was one less obstacle to navigate.”
"Support services helped make this time a little easier, by alleviating some of the worry and apprehension we were experiencing."
Receiving cancer treatment far from home is tough.
Long trips to the city, the expense of accommodation and being separated from home and family can make the challenges of treatment so much harder.
At Chris O’Brien Lifehouse, the generosity of our donors helps provide a range of holistic support services that help ease the burden of distance for regional patients, so they can access world-class, comprehensive cancer care.
If you’d like to help ease the burden of distance for patients like Josh, why not make a journey of your own? Sign up to Go The Distance this September and every km you cover will help bring cancer care closer to home for regional Australians.
