The opening of a new, world-class Icon Cancer Centre in Concord Hospital is now saving patients from travelling for public radiation oncology, bringing the latest in cancer care closer to home for the local community. For Concord local Anita Arcamone, the impact of having quality cancer care available locally is something she knows all too well.
“My cancer journey first began in 1992, when I was diagnosed with breast cancer just eight weeks after the loss of my son Andrew. When I was told that I had cancer, honestly, it felt like nothing compared to my devastating grief. The worst thing that could happen to me had happened, but I got through it and I could get through this,” Anita said.
After undergoing a partial mastectomy, chemotherapy and radiation therapy at Westmead Hospital, Anita spent ten years cancer-free until she was told her breast cancer had returned. Thankfully, her treatment was again successful.
“In 2019, I was having a routine mammogram when my doctor encouraged me to get further scans. They told me that I not only had breast cancer, but also lung cancer which had developed separately and a lesion on my spine.