Back in February, Linda was one of the very first patients to step into our brand-new Darling Harbour treatment room. This room is home to our newly acquired, state-of-the-art Varian edge Linear Accelerator (LINAC), purchased thanks to the incredible support of our donor community on Giving Day.
Linda's story is a testament to the impact generous donors like you are having on the lives of our patients.
As a devoted primary school teacher from a small country town and mother of four, Linda has dedicated her life to educating and nurturing young minds.
For years, Linda had experienced dizziness and headaches that were wrongly diagnosed as Meniere's Disease. When her balance and speech became affected, Linda suspected that something more was going on. "It got to a stage where I was asking my family to get their umbrella to dish up dinner," she says.
Fearing a diagnosis of dementia, Linda underwent a CT scan which unexpectedly revealed a tumour in the left frontal of her brain.
Only a week after her diagnosis, Linda was scheduled for surgery. After the procedure, the biopsy results showed that her treatment wasn’t over. Linda would need additional radiation therapy once her wounds were healed.
Luckily her treatment started just as we finalised the installation of the new Linear Accelerator.
The advanced radiation technology of the Varian Edge enables us to deliver Linda what few hospitals in Australia can – zero-margin treatments with a fast turnaround and excellent outcomes for cancer patients.
Zero-margin treatment means that there is no margin of healthy tissue, not even a millimetre outside the tumour that the radiation touches. This makes it particularly beneficial for patients like Linda, who are receiving radiation for brain cancer.
To undergo radiation therapy, Linda has to lie still on her back covered with a mask while the LINAC moves around her. The mask is very tight-fitted and personalised to her facial features, to minimise movement. In the Darling Harbour room, patients can distract themselves by ‘stargazing’ in the starry night sky projected on the ceiling.
Around half of our patients at Chris O’Brien Lifehouse receive radiation therapy as part of their treatment, so having an up-to-date LINAC is crucial for our centre. Your response to this appeal on Giving Day was nothing short of extraordinary. Thanks to your generosity, our LINAC will deliver over 100,000 precise and effective treatments to our patients.
