Vicki Hamilton, Author at GARDS

Calling All Meso Sufferers & Carers PBAC Consultation 2021

January 18, 2021 By Vicki Hamilton

PBAC consultation calling all mesothelioma sufferers and carers alike – ACV/GARDS encourages you to participate if you can offer anything from your experiences – Medicines subsidised on the Pharmaceutical Benefit Scheme must be assessed by the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee (PBAC) and found to be good value (clinically and cost effective).

In March, PBAC will assess a combination medicine called nivolumab (Opdivo®) plus ipilimumab (Yervoy®) for people with malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM). They are a type of immunotherapy called immune checkpoint inhibitors. PBAC is considering listing them on the PBS for (1) patients with MPM who have not received therapy for MPM before (1st line treatment), and (2) patients with MPM who have received chemotherapy for MPM and the MPM has continued to get worse (2nd line treatment).

PBAC has a lot of data from trials as well as economic evidence, but your input can help them learn more, especially about accessing treatment, what having treatment is like, what matters most in terms of quality of life, and other needs. Your experience can help them better understand the value of a treatment. You can submit your input online (no later than 10 February) at this site: https://www1.health.gov.au/…/PBAC_online_submission_form

Happy New Year To You All in 2021

December 31, 2020 By Vicki Hamilton

To All our Members and Supporters – Have a wonderful New Year and most importantly a safe one – Our Office will be closed until the Thursday 14th January 2021 If you require support or assistance of any kind over this time please call Vicki on 0407274173 or email gards@wideband.net.au – Hope to see you all sometime in 2021

Donation From CFMEU & DELTA Demolition Crews Dec 2020

December 12, 2020 By Vicki Hamilton

#asbestosawareness #donation – ACV/GARDS would like to thank very much the crews (gals and guys) from Delta Demolition and the CFMEU – Hazelwood Power station – Hazelwood Mine and EBAC for the wonderful monetary donation they made to us a few days ago. We really appreciate the support in helping us with our asbestos sufferers and their families and also the awareness we do in the community – we wish everyone a great Xmas and Happy New Year on all the working sites in the Latrobe Valley. Pictured here are reps from both companies who came to give us this wonderful donation There were two other reps in our office as well as the two in the photo

Asbestos In Victoria – Free Webinar 27th Nov – 1pm

November 16, 2020 By Vicki Hamilton

Asbestos is found in 1 in 3 Australian homes. To support National asbestosawareness week, WorkSafe is hostinga free ‘Asbestos in Victoria’ webinar to raise awareness about the impact
asbestos exposure still has on Victorian lives and the strategies in place to reduce exposure. – ACV/GARDS – Brian Healy will be speaking in this webinar – please support this important message that we are all trying to send the community – Other speakers are Dr Tom John – Peter Mac – Medical Oncologist and researcher into thoracic cancers – Lung and Mesothelioma – Prof Tim Driscoll – Epidemiology and Occupational Medicine – Sydney University – Simone Stevenson – Executive Officer – Victorian Asbestos Eradication Agency – It will be a great session – please register at this link https://bit.ly/32kE0Hg

Asbestos Lurks in More Places Than You’d Think – Free Webinar 24th Nov 2020

November 16, 2020 By Vicki Hamilton

We invite you to register for this webinar – it is a joint webinar by the Latrobe Valley Asbestos Task Force – in which Asbestos Council of Victoria/GARDS Inc. are a member – Speakers for this event are: Brian Healy – ACV/GARDS member who contracted mesothelioma, Brett Heriben – Electrician – Latrobe Electrical, Vicki Hamilton OAM – CEO/Secretary Asbestos Council of Victoria/GARDS Inc. – come and join with us and learn about asbestos – Tuesday 24th November – 5pm – 6pm – Register online at http://www.asbestostaskforce.net

Asbestos & Silica Awareness Virtual Sessions During COVID to TAFES

October 28, 2020 By Vicki Hamilton

Over the past months during COVID restrictions ACV/GARDS has been conducting virtual Asbestos & Silica Awareness sessions to as many TAFE apprentices that we could. We are very proud to say that there are apprentice Carpenters at Chisholm TAFE Frankston and Dandenong that have been a part of these sessions.

We also have been able to have a session before COVID and during COVID to Painting and Decorating apprentices at TAFE Gippsland Newborough campus and The Gordon at Geelong.

All have been very successful. We thank those trade teachers who managed to be able to gather their apprentices on a virtual hook up to be a part of this very valuable session.

It is a credit to the trade teachers and their apprentices for learning in this manner and we wish them every success in their chosen professions – here are some pics of some of those sessions below – we will be putting in an article to the ACV/GARDS Asbestos & Silica November newsletter – soon to be available

The Gordon TAFE Geelong Virtual Asbestos & Silica Awareness Session

October 28, 2020 By Vicki Hamilton

28th Oct 2020 – Today our org did a virtual asbestos and silica awareness session to 11 apprentice Painting & Decorating students at Geelong TAFE. We would like to thank Paul Webb their trade teacher for going above and beyond in making this happen. We were pleased to get feed back that the session was really valuable. It was also great to get calls after the session asking questions – we wish the apprentices all the best in their future trade – now more apprentices are asbestos and silica aware

Our Zoom Support Group Meetings During COVID

October 28, 2020 By Vicki Hamilton

27th Oct – Our asbestos and silica support group met virtually – as we have been doing for a number of months since COVID restrictions commenced – much chatter and catching up was had by all. We were very lucky to have a great speaker – Kate Carmichael – Program Manager of the Latrobe Valley Asbestos Task Force came along and gave a presentation on what has happened since the task force was formed and where to from here – The support group members enjoyed the talk and learnt a lot about what is happening in the asbestos arena in Latrobe Valley – they were impressed to hear about all the great partnerships that have been formed to combat asbestos in our community – our members come from far and wide with some hooking in from Sale/Heyfield and Berwick way – all in all a really great session – see pic taken of some of those on the zoom meeting