With more than 850 kilometres between his rural property in Thargomindah and his medical team in Toowoomba, Peter can stay in town and receive radiation therapy, thanks to accommodation provided by Cancer Council Queensland.
Retired farmer Peter lives so remotely that services like ‘The School of the Air’ and ‘The Royal Flying Doctor Service’ are just part and parcel of everyday life.
While there’s no resident doctor in his town of Thargomindah, Peter received his diagnosis for prostate cancer last year, through a blood test at his local health clinic.
At first, the idea of needing to travel to a metro area to start treatment felt daunting.
“I can’t handle the big cities because I grew up in the bush. For many years, it was just myself, my wife, and my kids for the next 40 kilometres.”
The cost of staying in town was also an issue.
“When they told me I needed to go to Toowoomba for eight weeks, I thought ‘this is going to cost me a fortune,’” Peter says. “You get a rebate from the government if you stay somewhere like a motel, but the gap is still around $80 to $90 a day… and there’s a lot of days in eight weeks.”
It was Peter’s daughter who first told him about Cancer Council Queensland’s Olive McMahon Lodge in Toowoomba, a ‘home away from home’ for Queenslanders impacted by cancer and living in rural and regional areas. Peter’s stayed three times at the Lodge, while he undergoes treatment. Each stay involves a three-hour flight from Thargomindah Airport to Toowoomba, and a cab ride to the Lodge.
Peter says he appreciates the comfortable rooms, the facilities, and the supportive staff at the Olive McMahon Lodge. He also enjoys the opportunity to connect with other Queenslanders going through treatment in the Lodge’s communal areas.
While staying in Toowoomba, Peter has also been able to use Cancer Council Queensland’s Transport to Treatment service to get to and from his medical appointments. Peter says, “I’m able to go on the courtesy bus every morning.”
Peter feels the situation for rural and regional patients is improving. When he was young, he watched as his mother passed away only ten days after being diagnosed with a late-stage cancer.
Now, aged 70, and facing his own cancer diagnosis, he says things have come a long way.
“The treatment, in particular, is getting so much better. I’ve got a bunch of grandkids and great grandkids. Their chances of survival when it comes to cancer are going to be great.”