Nurse gives lifeline in cancer care

From intern to leader, Shanaye Garnham has dedicated herself to a nursing career helping cancer patients at Logan Hospital’s Day Therapy Unit and has now been recognised for her efforts with a MooGoo Postgraduate Cancer Nursing Scholarship.

Shanaye, a Clinical Nurse Consultant, 36, has been awarded the scholarship in recognition of her goal to expand cancer services for vulnerable Logan patients.

She also received a $2,500 prize to help support the completion of her Master of Nurse Practitioner at Queensland University of Technology.

‘It will help bring my vision to life – establishing a nurse-led cancer care service in Logan,’ Shanaye says.

‘This model will improve accessibility, enhance patient education and provide holistic support for vulnerable cancer patients, ultimately improving the health and quality of life for the patients of Logan.’

ABOVE: Shanaye Garnham, front right, with her nursing colleagues at Logan Hospital’s Day Therapy Unit.

Shanaye was inspired to work in the field of oncology after losing 2 aunties to cancer when she was a teenager.

‘I’ve never wanted to do anything else,’ she says.

Shanaye’s scholarship is among 5 given to nurses nationwide, stemming from a partnership between the Cancer Nurses Society of Australia (CNSA) and Gold Coast-based Australian natural skin care brand MooGoo.

CNSA President Anne Mellon calls Shanaye’s work a ‘lifeline’ in a time when statistics predict a shortfall of 123,000 cancer nurses by 2030.

Breast cancer survivor and mother of 3, Melissa Lewis, who is Head of Partnerships for MooGoo, awarded Shanaye her cheque at a ceremony in Adelaide. Melissa pioneered the
scholarship initiative, inspired by the outstanding care she received during her own cancer journey.

She says Queensland cancer rates are 12.7 per cent higher than the rest of the country, and there were 1,623 new cases of cancer and 497 cancer deaths per year in residents within the City of Logan in 2015 to 2019.