When I was diagnosed with cancer, I was terrified!

Graphic: When I was diagnosed with cancer, I was terrified!

When I was diagnosed with cancer, I was terrified!

Date published

23 Feb 2021

"When I was diagnosed with cancer, I knew it was going to be a long road ahead, living so far from doctors and the treatment I needed. I was terrified.” – Peter from Lightning Ridge

After being diagnosed with bowel cancer, Peter feared for his life. He was scared and for the first time felt the consequences of living so remotely. Treatment was more than 400 kilometres from home.

He had finally found his ideal lifestyle with his wife, Rae. Living and working on a remote cattle station in Lightning Ridge, NSW.

A chronic illness diagnosis is distressing and causes uncertainty. But people living in the outback face more distress and uncertainty than most other Australians.

They simply don’t have the same access to healthcare.


Your support can be a lifeline for people isolated from healthcare and who have been diagnosed with long-term debilitating illnesses, providing critical transportation, healthcare support and access to regular GP clinics.

With remote Australians three times more likely to die from some chronic health diseases than anywhere else in Australia, without regular access to basic primary healthcare, many lives are at risk.

With your donation today, you can send an expert primary healthcare team into more remote communities to help prevent, treat, and support their health care needs.