Paul’s Story

Paul was in Sydney on holiday when he had a seizure. Instead of enjoying the theatre, Kerry watched Paul suddenly feel unwell and collapse. It was terrifying for them both. Kerry was so grateful that the ambulance arrived quickly. As Paul had not had seizures before, the senior Paramedic suggested St Vincent’s Hospital would be the best place for Health care follow up. Paul had 2 MRIs to confirm that he had a lump the size of a golf ball on the right side of his brain. Paul was given steroids to reduce the size of the lump and reduce the pressure on the brain which had caused the seizure. 

Prior to this, Paul was training quite hard for the upcoming triathlon season. He swam 3 mornings a week, ran twice a week and did 30-50km bike rides.  Paul was also attending gym classes 4-5 times a week for strength building and fitness. At no point did Paul feel any symptoms of brain cancer – no headaches, vomiting, co-ordination problems or blurred vision. Nothing until he had the seizure, which given the size of his tumour, was very surprising. 

After the surgery to remove the tumour and the confirmation that it was Stage 4 Glioblastoma (brain cancer), Paul had to stay in Sydney (not in hospital) because of the risk of further seizures, and to undergo radiation therapy. Paul’s wife Kerry was unable to stay with Paul for all of the 3 months that he stayed in Sydney, so Paul managed to get himself from where he was staying in Manly to St Vincent’s via the ferry and the 333 bus every day for 6 weeks. Paul was also taking oral chemo medication during his radiation treatment and often vomited (he lost 12kg).  

In one way Paul was lucky that he was in Sydney when he had his seizure as he could get the treatment that he needed. Had Paul been in his hometown, he would have been flown to Newcastle or Sydney for the surgery, and he would have to travel at least 200kms each day for radiation therapy. As it is, Paul has travelled 7,500km to Sydney for check-ups and MRIs scans, so far. 

However, Paul was disadvantaged by where he had his seizure. Because it occurred whilst he was away from his hometown, he was deemed illegible for NSW government assistance IPTAAS (financial assistance towards your travel and accommodation costs associated with long distances for specialized health treatment).  

This is where Can Assist made a huge impact on Paul and Kerry’s lives. Whilst there is no Can Assist branch in Grafton, Can Assist Sydney steps in to assist those cancer patients who live in an area which is outside our country branch network. Can Assist provided financial support with air flights, other travel costs and with some of those household bills that had been adding up. Can Assist also advocated on Paul’s behalf by helping Kerry with the IPTAAS appeals process; a process she had no knowledge of, had been turned away twice and deemed ineligible. The change to the IPTAAS ruling made a tangible difference, allowing Paul to claim for his accommodation costs, his daily trips for treatment and his trip home at the end of the 3 months. For Kerry who was dealing with the financial issues of Paul’s treatment “it was fantastic having Can Assist advocating for us. It just took a load off my mind. We would have received nothing if it wasn’t for Can Assist”.