Wide Bay community to benefit from ongoing cancer care partnership

A continuation of a public-private partnership will deliver ongoing modern radiation therapy to Wide Bay residents. The partnership between Wide Bay Hospital and Health Service (WBHHS) and GenesisCare, celebrating 5 years of service in January 2023, has now treated over 6,000 people with cancer. 

Wide Bay Hospital and Health Chief Operating Officer, Ben Ross-Edwards said that the partnership continuation and the resulting ongoing local care is great news for Wide Bay cancer patients.

“Getting a diagnosis of cancer can be really stressful for patients and their support networks. Our partnerships with local providers like GenesisCare allow us to offer modern treatment for the Wide Bay community nearer to home with less travel burden for themselves and their loved ones,” he says. 

In the five years of the public-private partnership, the GenesisCare centres in the Mater Hospital in Bundaberg and St Stephen’s Private Hospital in Hervey Bay have delivered radiation therapy to 6,221 patients made up of 131,631 treatment sessions. The team has grown over the years and now employs over 60 people from the local community.

“GenesisCare offers the same high-quality service to patients in their Wide Bay centres as they’d receive in a metro centre,” says Dr Sean Brennan, Regional Medical Director at GenesisCare for Wide Bay and Central Queensland. 

Bev Lyons lives in Bundaberg, close to her family and friends. In 2021 and 2022 she received treatment for skin cancers on her arms. Each arm involved 25 treatment sessions over a 7-week period. 

"I am so happy that it's possible to get cancer care so close to home. I felt really supported by the people at GenesisCare helping me through this scary and difficult time. Being treated in my local community made it so much easier, allowing me to stay near my family and friends and get on with my busy life,” she says.