History at a Glance
Dr David Joske, Head of Haematology, Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital founded the SolarisCare Foundation in September 2001 for the specific purpose of providing integrated and supportive care to all people with cancer, their families and carers in Western Australia. These centres are located at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital and St John of God Hospital Subiaco with a third to open in Bunbury in 2010 to support regional cancer patients and their carers.
The SolarisCare Foundation Cancer Support Centres provide a safe and welcoming place where cancer patients and their carers have “a soft place to land” to receive information and choose a complementary therapy from a range of over 15 therapies provided by volunteer professional therapists.
The Cancer Support Centres are integrated with mainstream medical care and aim to provide patients with practical skills to cope with the emotional and physical side effects of chemotherapy, radiotherapy and surgery. Offering support, educational material and complementary therapy sessions, (e.g. massage, reiki, counselling) for anyone who has been diagnosed with cancer and is receiving treatment, regardless of age, gender, type of cancer, or socio economic status. It is the first of its kind Australia.
Over the last nine years, over 25,000 free treatments were provided to cancer patients and their carers by a dedicated team of over 100 SolarisCare volunteers. It is now evident that with the positive response and ongoing heavy demand for complementary therapies plus the support from nurses, doctors and hospital administrations that the SolarisCare Cancer Support Centres are changing the face of cancer care in Western Australia.
All SolarisCare services are free of charge to cancer patients and their carers.
SolarisCare believes the combination of mainstream and complementary treatment successfully reduces stress and anxiety in cancer patients, which preliminary research suggests leads to improved quality of life and better outcomes for cancer sufferers.