Helping people affected by cancer
Thanks to the incredible fundraising efforts of our Dry July participants every year, the Dry July Foundation is able to help local and national cancer support organisations across Australia deliver practical, tangible support services for people affected by cancer.
Everything we fund is to benefit cancer patients, their families and carers, aiming to make a difficult time, a little easier for people affected by cancer.
A shoulder to lean on. A comforting voice. A place to relax. This is why we Dry July.
Where the money goes
Information and Support Services
Specialist Cancer Nurses
Wellness Programs
Cancer Centre Improvements
Accommodation and Transport
Comfort and Support Items
Organisations we support
The Dry July Foundation is proud to support numerous cancer organisations across Australia.
Some of the organisations who benefit from our fundraising include:
To see the full list of cancer support organisations we fund, please click here.
George and Sarah's Story
Meet George and Sarah, a couple whose journey through cancer diagnoses and treatments exemplifies resilience and support in the face of adversity.
It all began with George, noticing alarming symptoms during a leisurely game of golf—rapid weight loss, fatigue, and dizzy spells. Initially brushing them off as minor inconveniences, he couldn't ignore the severity when black stools appeared. Prompted by concern, George's condition deteriorated over the Easter weekend, leading to a visit to the hospital emergency room. There, he received the sobering news of a stomach mass but was sent home with instructions to follow up with his GP for further evaluation. With a history of testicular and bladder cancer, his cancer should have been a flag for...
Michael’s Dream
Michael, 61 is living with advanced cancer. After finding out about what Dreams2Live4 can do to help adults living with advanced cancer he wrote a beautiful handwritten letter explaining what his dream was,
“My only son Nicholas is due to get married next Friday in Sydney, and this is the one thing that has kept me going knowing that my son’s wedding was so close. My family are the most important thing to me on this planet, and I have drawn strength knowing my son’s wedding is on next week. I love all my family …and I’m very humbled that Dreams2Live4 have considered my request to allow me to spend this valuable time with my son and family on this special day.”
Michael needed medical transportation to get him to and from the Central Coast...
Christine's Story
Meet Christine Wells. Christine is one of Our House's most frequent guests, staying at Our House 32 times during its 11-year existence.Christine's first visit was with her husband, John. Christine and John live in Tenterfield; when a doctor diagnosed John in Tugun, he was sent to Lismore for treatment in 2009. Our House wasn't built when John's first treatment started; he was housed in Hospital accommodation on Laurel Ave. They watched Our House being built.
Christine and John's first visit was in 2013, and they have stayed 32 times since then during John's treatment and through his many operations.Sadly, John passed last year to pneumonia.
"We named Our House our second home", Christine said.
"We have stayed in every room except room 1....
Ann Marie's Story
Ann Marie was in her last year of training to be a teacher when, on Christmas Day, she noticed a small red mark on her breast. Initially she thought it was a bump from playing frisbee with her kids, but something prompted her to make an appointment with her GP.
Ann Marie remembers sitting and waiting with her husband, Derek, for the results. Both were sure there was nothing to be worried about. But within a few weeks, Ann Marie had surgery to remove a tumour and had started the first of her 19 radiation treatments. Throughout this period, Ann Marie was still attending her final university lectures.
“My lecturer was so surprised to see me in class, when he knew I had surgery the week prior. But to be honest, the classes were a good thing...
Rachel's story
My name is Rachel and I was diagnosed with Stage 3 Bowel Cancer at the age of 38. This consisted of surgery and six months of chemotherapy. I was fortunate to be accepted into the Pinc & Steel Targeted Class Program with Daina from Evoke Physiotherapy. This was a six week program where I met other Cancer patients on similar journeys. It was a great way to share stories and discuss similar side effects from treatment. As a group we were able to provide support and advice and also be guided by Daina.
The classes were small which meant that each person got individualised support Exercises were able to be tailored to each person's capability, individual needs and accommodate how everyone was feeling given treatment side effects.
I...
Allie's Story
Allie is one of a kind.
A cancer survivor, a teacher and a solo traveller. At age 27, whilst working in London, they noticed a lump in their breast. Allie’s GP dismissed it as a cyst due to their age. A year later the lump had become painful, so they trusted their gut instinct and followed up. Allie was first diagnosed with breast cancer in July 2018. They advocated for and underwent a double mastectomy with the hope of preventing reoccurrence.
Allie lives for adventure and thru-hiked the Camino de Santiago trail following surgery, before moving to Australia. Once there, they swapped hiking boots for a push bike and cycled solo around Australia, including a stretch between Melbourne and Perth.
In early 2022 Allie was re-diagnosed with...
How Danica found support through the phone after being wrongly diagnosed just before Christmas
Mother of two, Danica Bunch, was told that she may only have two years to live only a couple of days before Christmas in 2022, “When the nurse came to see me and broke down in tears, I asked her why she was crying, and she said she was overwhelmed with feeling for me as the diagnosis was so bad,” she says. Danica was wrongly diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer.
It wasn’t until early the following year that Danica was told that the nurse had mixed up her results with another patient’s and, while she still had breast cancer, her diagnosis was treatable.
Danica said that the timing of being (unknowingly) misdiagnosed was particularly challenging, “Any news at Christmas time is so hard, but over Christmas you also have services shutting...
Sarah's Story
I was 47 years old, working as a busy Psychiatrist, when I was diagnosed with Stage 4 sigmoid colon cancer out of the blue. My tumour was circumferential, so I didn’t experience any bowel symptoms. My eventual presentation was in fact due to liver capsule stretch from the extensive liver metastases.
It took a few weeks for me to be diagnosed as I was positive for Epstein Barr Virus, so my GP thought I had a viral hepatitis. This seemed to explain my deranged liver function tests, but over the weeks they deteriorated instead of improving. Liver ultrasound scan was normal, despite there being multiple liver metastases. It wasn’t until I had an MRI scan of my abdomen that the metastases were detected, along with a suspicious thickening in...
Canteen continues to support young cancer patients with the support of Dry July 2023 funds
The funds are helping Canteen continue to support young cancer patients stay connected to study or work, both during and after their cancer treatment through Canteen’s Education and Career Support Service (ECS). Cancer and its treatment significantly disadvantage young people’s education and career development, leading to poor educational attainment as well as underemployment and unemployment compared to their peers.
Young people can use the service at the point ofdiagnosis, during treatment as well as after treatment as they transition back into work or study.