One year ago, Jo was diagnosed with an aggressive form of breast cancer. She faced a gruelling schedule of treatment consisting of five months chemotherapy, a single mastectomy, and five weeks radiation.
As a consequence of radiation, Jo had 21 lymph nodes removed which opened her up to the risk of Lymphedema – a chronic condition which causes the build-up of fluid in soft body tissues when the lymph system is damaged or blocked.
Jo had firsthand experience of the value of a SOZO machine. The SOZO machine gives health staff a precise snapshot of fluid status and tissue composition in less than 30 seconds which is transmitted to a computer device.
TACCC don’t have regular access to a SOZO machine. For patients like Jo, the only way to access one would be to walk to the other side of SCUH, which can be time-consuming and not always possible for patients.
“Having access to all of that data that the SOZO machine gives you meant that I could see what my body was doing,” Jo shared.
“I could see when the fluid was increasing, we’d put strategies in place to minimise that which meant that I could get back to exercise safely and build better outcomes for the future.”
SCHHS Physiotherapist Kathryn Gibbons identified the gap and applied to Wishlist to fund two SOZO machines which would allow for every patient who comes through TACCC to be assessed and monitored for body composition and fluid changes.
Through support from our generous community, we hope to fund these items from donations on Wishlist Giving Day.
Watch Jo’s full story with insights from SCHHS staff Christie Brown and Curtis Forbes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0Og7n-kEtI
