Help us achieve an Australian first in the detection, treatment and prevention of cancer

Imagine being on a family trip of a lifetime only to return home and hear the devastating news you have cancer, and the situation is so serious you need to commence treatment immediately. 

Just 12 months ago, this was the reality for 32-year-old Karen who was told she had ‘double hit lymphoma’ and had to urgently start treatment the same day. Sadly, the initial treatments Karen undertook weren’t successful, and with each additional treatment, Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scans were required to assess if the treatments were working.  

A PET scan can take between 60 and 90 minutes (sometimes waiting for hours while the tracer localises to the cancer) and requires the patient to be injected with radioactive dye. It is critical in helping doctors observe changes in the size and activity of tumours. But what if I told you there’s a new machine at least 10 times more powerful? A scanner which dramatically reduces the amount of radioactive dye patients need, detects even the tiniest cancer sites and can scan the whole body at once – and all in the space of minutes, not hours. 

This scanner is called the Biograph Vision Quadra (PET Quadra for short) and currently there are NONE in an Australian public hospital used only for cancer and only one in Victoria (in a private facility). But The Alfred is determined to change this. 

We are incredibly grateful to the Australian and Victorian Governments who are supporting this vision by committing $19M but we still need an extra $5M to purchase and install the machine. 

Will you donate today and help us secure this new cutting-edge scanner?