“Restore More”: Innovation & Commitment in Our Community
Last weekend my wife and I along with some good friends attended an awareness and fundraising gala for the “Restore More” organization, held at the Gladstone Entertainment Centre. “Restore More” helps educate sufferers of breast cancer about diagnosis and treatment options. Did you know that around 20,000 people, mostly women, will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year? Or that over 3000 will die from Breast Cancer? That is around eight mums, grandmas, wives, daughters, and friends lost every day; eight families devastated.
The event was attended by many inspirational people: breast cancer survivors and their supporters; nurses and health professionals; community leaders like our local member Glenn Butcher and his wife; and many supporting community workers and businesses.
However, on the night there was none more inspiring than Dr Amelia Dauway. Dr Dauway is a surgeon who specialises in surgical oncology. She saw that regional Australians were encountering challenges associated with breast cancer treatment and access to reconstructive surgery, so she set about finding ways to provide for these services with a holistic approach. Thanks to Dr Dauway, Gladstone was the first place in Australia to offer the Magseed process, which uses a tiny marker to allow a surgeon to better pin point cancer, so that it can be removed with a minimal loss of healthy tissue. Dr Dauway’s work and “Restore More” are another example in our community of how commitment to a vision, innovation and hard work can make such a difference to people’s lives. That is the kind of culture we are trying to create at QER, and the kind of community we want to be part of.
I am proud that QER has agreed to sponsor the “Restore More” group and have committed to donate $1000 to this wonderful organisation.