Teresa Gambaro (Brisbane, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to commend the exceptional work that the Childhood Cancer Support group, based in the electorate of Brisbane, does for children undergoing oncology treatment, and the ongoing support they offer to family members. Based in Bramston Terrace, Herston, in the heart of my electorate. Childhood Cancer Support provides a place to call home for families with children undergoing long-term treatment plans. CCS was established in 1975. It is a not-for-profit organisation with a focus on providing practical and realistic support for families. There are currently four properties on Bramston Terrace, in Herston's medical precinct, which provide families, including siblings and grandparents, with privacy and self-sufficiency during treatment. I can only imagine how much more difficult facing a long-term treatment plan would be if you had to live out of a hotel room. CCS offers families a place to call home during these particularly and incredibly stressful times.

Over the years, thousands of families from Queensland have been assisted by the team at CCS, and their children have received treatment in Brisbane. A key focus of CCS is to provide Australian families, including those from regional areas, with access to support services to help them manage the impact of childhood cancer. These support services include financial assistance and a number of respite programs, which include recreational activities, school holiday programs, family barbecues and a number of emotional support services to help build a sense of community. One new initiative offered by CCS is a Monday-to-Friday transport service to help the families transit to Lady Cilento Children's Hospital in South Brisbane. On a day-to-day basis, we take for granted simple tasks like running errands but, when you are caring for a child with cancer, it is the small tasks that I am sure are the very hardest to tackle. CCS seeks to remove the emotional and financial stress of living away from home by sticking to a no-cost policy.

The demand for accommodation at Bramston Terrace units is currently so high that all the units are occupied for most of the year, and there is a waiting list of anywhere between six and 10 families at any given time. CCS services are highly sought after, and they have had an increase in facilities as well. I was delighted to meet CCS General Manager, Lisa Godier, and board member, Josie Thomson in my electorate office last week to hear of the future of CCS; to hear of their opportunities to provide for more families, and about some of the exciting developments they have planned. Under their plan for 2015-16, there will be a focus on a second campus being sought closer to the new Lady Cilento Children's Hospital in South Brisbane. This will provide more families with the opportunity to be under one roof as their child undergoes treatment.

As a charitable organisation, CCS relies on donations and support from a number of corporate sponsors and corporate events. For example, Talk Like a Pirate Day was held on 19 September 2014, and they raised more than $30,000. These events helped raise vital funds and awareness required to increase accommodation and services provided by CCS. CCS is an invaluable addition to the cancer support service network through providing families with community care. It understands that childhood cancer is a battle that cannot be fought alone.

This year will be a very important year for CCS. They will have provided some 40 years of service to families in Brisbane, and I commend them for the incredible work they have been doing on behalf of all of those families. They truly are an inspirational organisation, based in my electorate. I look forward to working with them, particularly to help them realise their dreams of helping to build that second facility. Hopefully, when a new government is instated in Queensland it will help them deal with some of the transport issues they raised with me in my office last week. I commend the word of all involved in this great organisation.