The Cancer Compassionate Fund was started in 2014 and was the brainchild of 3 very community focused individuals Mark Nash (Oncology Patient Liaison Officer at the Lismore Base Hospital), Marshall Fittler (a pioneering member of the Lismore community who has for years fundraised and pushed for the advancement of medical facilities offered in the Lismore Area) and Patrick Fitz-Bugden (a well-known community member of the Lismore Community).
The 3 founders saw firsthand the gaps and struggles of patients undergoing Cancer treatment particularly in the Lismore area under the current systems offering assistance and wanted to build an organisation that could assist in areas where other systems are lacking. From this humble idea the Cancer Compassionate Fund Inc. (CCF) was born.
CCF has grown and emerged as a strong community minded not-for-profit organisation who puts the needs of individuals and families on a cancer journey first. It has built authentic and long-lasting relationships in the local medical community to ensure they reach those in need quickly and effectively. No relationship is more important than the one with the Oncology Social Workers and staff operating out of Lismore’s 2 major hospitals.
Through a referral process with the Social Workers CCF determines who needs help in the community. All patients both inpatients and outpatients are assessed by the hospital's Social Workers and they determine what assistance these individuals require. CCF has built itself to be the go to organisation for the "out of the box" assistance requests which are not covered by other organisations.
The CCF board (all volunteers) work tirelessly to make funding available to cancer patients and their families requiring financial assistance through many fundraising channels, the most successfully of which is the annual “Lismore Corporate Karaoke Cup”.
Cancer Compassionate Fund Inc. currently assist Oncology patients at Lismore Base Hospital and St Vincent's Private Hospital Lismore