Be Uplifted at symposium

Women with breast cancer and their loved ones are being urged to attend a symposium hosted by the charity Be Uplifted on November 8.

The event, called Insight and Knowledge: Improving the Breast Cancer Journey, will be held at Kedron Wavell Services Club’s Blue Room from 9am-4pm.

Wendy Paterson, who co-founded the group in 2010 with Barbara Zimmley says it will be second symposium Be Uplifted has hosted – the first was in 2019 and plans for an event in 2020 were derailed by COVID-19.

The 2019 event attracted 89 participants for the morning session and 70 in the afternoon.

Wendy is hoping for more this year but is also mindful of COVID-19 fears among women undergoing treatment for breast cancer.

There will be seven expert guest speakers, sharing information on a range of topics.

“Participants gain insight and knowledge and confidence. Each of the speakers do a Q&A session where they debunk a lot of things,” Wendy says.

She says it is important women have the information they need to make informed decisions, and receiving counselling early is also vital to give them the tools to cope.

Money raised by Be Uplifted is dedicated to patient care and support, so entry to the symposium is just a gold coin donation.

Wendy is encouraging women and their family and friends to come along, so they can all gain a better understanding of what is ahead and the support available.

“It’s all about rebuilding their confidence and their belief in themselves. We’re different to other, bigger organisations,” she says.

She and Barbara Zimmley founded the organisation in a bid to help women who were embarking on a journey they too had experienced.

“We both went through breast cancer … she was six months before me. We went to the same church, I had two young girls and she knew what I was up against. We thought if we survived it, we would give back,” Wendy says.

Anyone wanting to attend can book via the website, beuplifted.org.au or simply show up on the day.

Program

9am: Opening by Councillor Fiona Hammond of Marchant Park

9.10am: Wendy Paterson, Co-Founder Be Uplifted Inc

9.15am: Lorna Golombick from Seed Physiotherapy

10am: Cheryl Smith, counsellor

10.40am: Morning tea

11am: Dr Nicola Lowrey and Dr Leesa Jackson

11.45am: Tracey Pope Bowen Therapies M.O.R.E

12.30pm: Lunch

1.30pm: Dr Ben Green, Surgeon, MBBBS FRACS

2.15pm: Dr Janet Schloss, naturopath and clinical nutritionist

3pm: Dr Agnieszka Malczewski, medical oncologist Icon Cancer Centre

3.45pm: Raffle draws

Speaker bios

Dr Agnieszka Malczewski

Dr Malczewski is a medical oncologist based at Icon Wesley, Chermside and North Lakes. She is committed to patient-centred care with an interest in applying the latest developments in chemotherapy, targeted therapy and immunotherapy. Dr Malczewski understands the importance of clear communication with her patients and their loved ones, and has experience treating a broad range of solid tissue tumours including breast cancer.

Dr Ben Green

Dr Green has a specialist interest in breast cancer and high-risk breast cancer patients. He currently holds positions of staff specialist Breast and Endocrine surgery at Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital. He is also a visiting surgeon to St Andrews War Memorial Hospital and Holy Spirit Northside Private Hospital. Dr Green has a keen interest in Breast cancer research and has established a five-year prospective study being conducted conjointly at the RBWH and the UQ Centre for Clinical research (UQCCR).

Cheryl Smith, counsellor

Cheryl has been working as a professional counsellor since 2005, and in private practice since 2011. Based at North Lakes, she is a member of the Australian Counselling Association and one of her special areas of interest is supporting women through breast cancer. Having experienced her own journey with breast cancer in 2016 and again in 2018, Cheryl has lived experience that helps her understand some of the struggles her clients are facing, whilst being aware that no two experiences are the same.

Tracey Pope

Experienced Bowen Therapist Tracey Pope uses her passion for people and science to work with clients to help them improve quality of life, with less pain and tension. She offers professional and tailored treatments to meet their health needs. The service is a personalised treatment in a private and relaxing environment, and can assist in addressing chronic pain, scar tissue release, regaining mobility and migraine and persistent headaches.

Dr Nicola Lowrey

Dr Lowrey recently completed a 12-month clinical research fellowship in the field of breast cancer, at the world-renowned Princess Margaret Cancer Centre in Toronto. Here she gained extensive experience in the use of Deep Inspiration Breath Hold technique, hypofractionated radiotherapy and locally advanced breast cancer. Dr Lowrey treats all areas of general oncology but sub-specialises in the management of breast, gynaecological, skin and central nervous system tumours. Her research interests have been in the application of imaging techniques to improve radiotherapy planning and her major research in Toronto investigated the use of breast MRI to improve the accuracy of radiotherapy planning for women who have had breast conservation surgery.

Lorna Golombick

Ms Golombick is the founder of Seed Physiotherapy. She has 25 years’ experience spread over three continents (Africa, USA and Australia), covering fields such as general musculoskeletal, neuro, cardio, aged care, paediatrics, orthopaedics, sports physiotherapy, pilates, lymphoedema management and oncology rehabilitation. She works with patients from diagnosis, through medical treatments and beyond to address individual needs, maximise recovery and help regain physical strength, confidence, quality of life and overall health.

Dr Janet Schloss

Dr Schloss is a Clinical Nutritionist and Naturopath who has been in private practice for more than 20 years. She works part-time seeing patients and part-time conducting research. She completed her PhD at School of Medicine, The University of Queensland in 2015 and continues to conduct research to help patients and practitioners to establish evidence-based practice.

Dr Leesa Jackson

Most of Dr Jackson’s career has been spent in oncology (both medical and radiation) and she has a genuine passion for patient support, education, counselling, and survivorship. She is currently undertaking further education in psychology and has plans to set up a research project into cancer-related fatigue management.