At the Lions Club of Young’s dinner meeting on April 9 we were privileged to have Louise Mugridge as our guest speaker. Louise is chief nurse clinician at the Young Oncology Unit and was rewarded for her outstanding care by receiving an OAM in the Queen’s honour list last year.
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The Young Oncology Unit was established in August 2004, largely servicing patients from Young, Harden, Boorowa and Cootamundra. Currently the Unit has two visiting Medical Oncologists from ACT and a Radiation Oncologist from Riverina Cancer Care Centre in Wagga. Currently they service around 60 patients per month.
Chemotherapy and non-malignant therapy treatments are administered on an outpatient basis three days per week – Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.
Louise outlined the cancer incidence in the Murrumbidgee Local Health District. Prostate is the most common cancer followed by Breast, Lung, Melanoma and Colon cancers.
She pointed out how the following lifestyle risks contribute to cancers. Smoking causes 90 percent of lung cancers; Alcohol causes mouth/throat/liver/breast/colon cancers; Obesity can lead to bowel/pancreas/kidney/ovary and prostate cancers; inactivity can lead to breast/bowel and endometrium cancers and Sun exposure causes 95 percent of Melanoma and 90 percent of other skin cancers.
Louise indicated that in order to reduce our chances of getting cancer we should not smoke, consume alcohol moderately, maintain healthy weight, keep active and stay sun smart.
The Lions Club of Young recently made a generous donation of approximately $7000 to the Young District Hospital Auxiliary who were able to purchase a special Trauma bed for the Hospital Emergency Department.
The Trauma bed/trolley is designed to give knee support and relief to patients with severe back pain as well as other benefits. It is ideal for short people, the overweight and immobile elderly patients as the bed can be lowered to the ground.
On Friday April 13 Young Lions Club president Stuart Freudenstein and secretary Helen Sell met with Hospital Auxiliary president Janice Ward and secretary Lyn Freudenstein in the Emergency Department of the District Hospital to view the trauma bed.
ED Nurse Wendy Gale thanked both organisations for their generosity and said the hospital was very grateful for the purchase of much needed equipment.
