Tyler Redway and Sophie Conlon
With blood cancer patients facing increased financial pressures, the Leukaemia Foundation is calling for more people to participate in the 25th Worlds Greatest Shave.
According to the foundation, close to half Australian blood cancer patients have between $5000 and $11,000 out of pocket costs for treatment.
This financial burden is one Mount Gambier/ Berrin resident Polly Supplice and her family know too well.
In 2021, Ms Supplice lost her husband, Geoff, to blood cancer, which she said “left a hole in her heart”.
“We had been together for 41 years, married 36 this year so it left a big hole in my heart when we found out he had cancer,” she said.
The couple moved to the Blue Lake city in 2020 and Geoff’s condition continued to worsen.
“When we did come over and we got out of isolation, he went to a doctor because he wanted to get a GP and they picked up an abnormality in his blood, which was in August,” Ms Supplice said.
“The only time Geoff could get in to see a haematologist was in the following May in Portland.”
“He went there and they said it was slow moving and there was no need to worry, so they told him to come back in six months.”
After being told “there was no need to worry” in May 2021, Geoff passed away only six months later before he could return to the haematologist.
Through this journey, Ms Supplice said the Leukaemia Foundation had played a big part in helping the family travel to Adelaide so Geoff could receive chemotherapy.
“All I was worrying about was him, as well as where we were going to stay and what it was going to cost,” she said.
“When Geoff got sick, I think even he got worried about how much it was going to cost to stay.
“The Leukaemia Foundation rang us up and told us they had an apartment ready for us and it was there for as long as we needed it.
“When Geoff found out we didn’t have to pay, he could actually just focus on his chemo and all that.”
Ms Supplice said the foundation’s assistance also eased the pressure of travel and accommodation costs during Geoff’s treatment.
She said the foundation had kept checking in with the family after Geoff’s passing and continued to show their support.
“Because I didn’t have to touch funds that we had put away, it made a hell of a difference,” she said.
“The help they gave us at that time was great because it meant I could reach into a little bit of the savings for Geoff’s funeral so I didn’t have to worry about it.”
Leukaemia Foundation chief executive officer urged people to take part in this year’s Worlds Greatest Shave so they could continue helping people like Polly and Geoff Supplice.
“As a charity that receives no on-going government funding, we heavily rely on the generosity of the Australian community so we can assist blood cancer patients and their loved ones, through this incredibly difficult time,” he said.
“If we are to have any hope of easing the financial burden of blood cancer on those impacted, we desperately need more people to sign up to shave, cut, or colour their hair this March.
“We know that the World’s Greatest Shave alone is not going to solve the problem, but it’s certainly going to make a significant difference to the support we can provide to patients, and their families, right now when they need it most.”
Ms Supplice and her family began fundraising for the Leukaemia Foundation after Geoff passed away and she said they raised quite a bit for the World’s Greatest Shave and Light the Night fundraisers.
“We didn’t have a lot of money to give back to them so we thought we would do the next best thing by raising the money,” she said.
“Between us and the sons in Melbourne, I think we raised nearly $17,000 for them, so if that’s going to help someone else out, then it really is the whole reason you do it.
“It’s not that hard to get a few people together, open up a page on social media and start raising a bit of money.
“It doesn’t have to be a lot, it’s more about raising the money itself because it really does make a difference.”
To register to participate in the World’s Greatest Shave this March, sign up now via worldsgreatestshave.com or call 1800 500 088.
