FUN & FITNESS Ramsay Saving Lives with TriPink From weekend warriors testing their endurance, through to breast cancer survivors running for a cure, it was a sea of pink in every state as 5500 determined women pounded the pavement for the 10th Ramsay Triathlon Pink. Participants aged 7 to 73 banded together for patients in need – with the annual event raising a total of $1.89m since it started 10 years ago. Seven-year-old Makayla ‘Nugg’ Maloney was just one of the all-female athletes who ran the kids triathlon (50m swim, 2km bike ride and 500m fun) while Ramsay staff nationally also teamed up to run, walk, skip, ride, scoot and saunter various length triathlons. National Breast Cancer Foundation (NBCF) Chief Executive Officer Professor Sarah Hosking said the fundraiser would support life-changing research projects to help the one in 8 women diagnosed with breast cancer in Australia. 20 The Ramsay Way 2017 | 02 One of the projects with Dr Brigid Lynch from Cancer Council Victoria, is investigating whether wearable technology has the potential to get women to be more active. Dr Lynch’s research tackles this from two angles - the impact of exercise on preventing breast cancer and how exercise can help women going through treatment cope better and make the treatment more effective. Our goal is zero breast cancer deaths for 2030 – NBCF “There’s a lot of evidence to support the benefits of exercise. I think it’s fantastic that something so easy and accessible, like going for a walk or run, can have such powerful health benefits for women,” said Dr Lynch. Another NBCF project that benefited from TriPink is the Edith Cowan University WA project, evaluating whether aerobic exercise can reduce tumour growth, improve quality of life and improve the health of muscle, bone, heart and lungs. Experts all agree that exercise is one of the best weapons in the arsenal against the killer disease. In a meta-analysis of 22 cohort studies, The Canadian Medical Association Journal recently found that physical activity had the single strongest effect on “reducing the risk of breast cancer recurrence and death”. Mateship Run On Sunday 30th April, John Flynn Private Hospital Executive & staff participated in the annual Mateship Run, which is an opportunity to commemorate ANZAC Day and recognize the extraordinary contribution the Australian Defense Forces make, past and present, through participating in a healthy fun activity whilst raising funds as a community to assist with the Soldier On charity. Supported by the Currumbin RSL and John Flynn Private Hospital, Soldier On is the leading independent support organization for contemporary veterans in Australia, aiding their recovering for those affected by their service and providing empowerment and the dignity they deserve. John Flynn staff, led by CEO Greg Jenke, were amongst the hundreds of participants taking part in the 10k, 5k or walking events on the day and proud to extend their partnership within the local community. Swimspirational Leisa! Sharks. Jelly fish. Hypothermia. Bone aching tiredness. Executive Assistant to the Ramsay National Chief Operating and Business Development Leisa Chisolm knows all too well the feeling of creeping dread that most open water swimmers experience from time to time - but it didn’t stop her from finishing the Bondi To Watsons Bay Ocean swim last month. “I ended up swimming quite wide, away from the cliffs so total distance was 11.5km in 3.5hours,” said Leisa. “The swell was pretty big so it definitely wasn’t an easy swim and a bit creepy at times as there was no one around me for the most of it. “A few people had problems with sea sickness and hypothermia but luckily I was fine and my coach prepped me really well and I had an awesome support crew with me. “It’s just such an awesome experience to be able to swim the whole way along the cliffs and through the heads. It’s so beautiful out there.” And a recent report from the World Cancer Research Fund also found vigorous exercise like cycling or running cut the risk of post-menopausal breast cancer by 10% compared to the least active women Professor Hosking thanked TriPink participants in helping to combat breast cancer. “When the NBCF started in 1994, over 20 years ago, the five-year survival rate for breast cancer was 76%. Today the five year survival rate is 90%. Our vision is to make the survival rate from breast cancer 100% and we are working towards a goal of zero deaths from breast cancer by 2030. “Thanks to research and events like the Ramsay TriPink we have made significant progress, but the there’s still plenty of work left to do,” said Professor Hosking. Next Season Dates Tri-Pink 2018 The TriPink fun runs cater for all ages and levels of fitness and go from October to April. Here are next year’s new dates. Sign up your hospital team today. Go to www.tripink.com.au or follow TriPink on Facebook. Events start at 50m swim, 2km bike ride and 500m run right up to the Ultra 600m swim 18km ride and 6km run. • Brisbane Sunday, 22 October 2017 • Perth Sunday, 12 November 2017 • Sydney (SOPA) Saturday, 3 December 2018 • Melbourne* Sunday, 21 January 2018 (*tentative) • Gold Coast Sunday, 18 February 2018 • Sydney (Maroubra) Sunday, 22 April 2018 • Sunshine Coast Sunday, 25 March 2018 Are you an oncology nurse who wants to do the TriPink fun run next year? We’d love to hear your story. Email: PettifordK@ramsayhealth.com.au More than 150 Ramsay Staff participated in the event; with the biggest team from the Sunshine Coast. Blood, sweat and cheers…a mammoth effort with a great reward for women doing their bit for breast cancer.
The Ramsay Way - Winter 2017
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