When Help Arrives – How Can Assist Supports Local Cancer Families

When someone in Peak Hill receives a cancer diagnosis, the journey ahead can feel frightening, expensive, and overwhelmingly lonely. But for more than a decade, one thing has remained constant: sooner or later, Maria shows up at their door – often with a gentle smile, a form, and the reassurance that they will not walk this path alone. 

As the Can Assist liaison officer, Maria is usually the first person families meet. She calls or visits as soon as she hears about a diagnosis, introduces herself, and explains the ways Can Assist can help. “I give them our form, my number, and I just say, ‘If you need anything, call me. If I can’t answer your question, I’ll find someone who can.’” 

For many local families, the single biggest barrier to treatment is fuel. Fuel vouchers are the support families most often accept. Every week, Maria checks in with each person – not just to organise vouchers, but to ask how they’re coping. “Sometimes people just need to talk,” she says. 

Can Assist also covers pharmacy costs for cancer related medications and supplements, provides food vouchers when needed, and helps people navigate IPTAAS reimbursement – often the difference between whether someone feels they can afford ongoing treatment, or not. 

Maria shares the story of a man who refused help for months. She quietly slipped vouchers into an envelope and delivered them anyway. When he finally became cancer free, the first thing he did was send a message of gratitude. “He said he’d support Peak Hill Can Assist for the rest of his life,” Maria recalls. Maria shared his message with the volunteers. “The smiles… you could feel the pride in the room,” she says. 

For local cancer families, Can Assist is not just financial help – it is community, dignity, and hope. And for Maria, being part of that journey is “a privilege.”