Professor Michael Friedlander, AM PhD FRACP, Head of Medical Oncology at Sydney’s Prince of Wales Hospital and a Patron of Life Force, has this to say about Life Force:
“I have been associated with the Life Force Cancer Foundation since its inception in 1993 and have been more than impressed with the support that they have offered to patients with cancer and to their families. They have survived largely on the goodwill of the staff and community who have donated their time, as well as funds to run the programs.
There is now ample evidence to support psychosocial service provision and this is no longer an area of controversy as it was when Life Force was established. There are now psychosocial guidelines endorsed by the NHMRC and no one would argue that this is an important and essential component of cancer care.
One of the major advantages of the Life Force Cancer Foundation is that it sees patients outside the hospital system in a non-threatening environment and I see this as one of its major strengths. In my experience, many people do not want to return to the hospital setting for psychological support once treatment has completed, due to the memories that are evoked by returning regularly to the same institution.
Another major strength of Life Force is that the counsellors work with clinicians rather than against them and this is consistent with the holistic approach to cancer care.”
Gabi is a founding director of The Fred Hollows Foundation and has always had a strong interest in health and the well-being of others. She practised as an orthoptist for many years, working beside Fred Hollows on The National Trachoma Program. Gabi was a founding member of Life Force and is a strong supporter of the Life Force philosophy and programs.
In 2013 Gabi was appointed an Officer in the Order of Australia and has also been declared one of Australia’s ‘100 Living National Treasures’. She also holds an Advance Australia Award (Community Service) and a Centenary Award from the Australian Government.
"Jilly, a long-time friend of myself and my late husband Fred Hollows, asked me if I would become a founding member and patron of Life Force Foundation, a not for profit organisation she established. I happily agreed to that request as I believed strongly in her concept and the program of services she was offering to support people living with cancer.
I had just lost my husband Fred to cancer and understood the painful emotional and psychological struggle that patients and families go through. I was also by Jilly’s side as she went through her own cancer experience and very much wanted to support her endeavour to bring much-needed help to those in distress.
In 1995, Jilly and my husband John Balazs who had become a pro bono legal adviser to Life Force Foundation put in an application for the Foundation to become a registered charity. Life Force was granted charitable status as a Public Benevolent Institution.
I am proud to be associated with this organisation and its important work in the community for all those affected by cancer. "
- Gabi Hollows
Life Force Foundation was set up originally following my own experience as a cancer patient. After my diagnosis and treatment for cancer in 1992, I realised there was no psychosocial support available for patients and their families in dealing with the emotional, psychological and spiritual impact of the cancer experience on their lives. As a trained counsellor and group facilitator, I felt a strong urge to fill this gap in providing a service that I felt was lacking. I believed we needed to treat more than just the disease we needed to treat the whole human being, to foster a holistic and integrated approach.
I wanted to provide a safe caring and supportive environment, a space where patients could come together and be reassured that they did not have to manage these huge challenges alone.
In 1993, I first set up a weekly support group in the eastern suburbs of Sydney for cancer patients, based on my own training and also informed by my own experience as a cancer patient, and with my friend and colleague Caro Jonas as co-facilitator and meditation teacher. The groups offered a place where patients could express and explore the emotional impact of cancer on their lives, gain a new perspective, and learn new strategies that could bring an improvement in their quality of life.
Other groups were set up in different suburbs and further programs were added, such as country retreats, special workshops, and individual counselling services, telephone counselling, home and hospital visits, grief counselling, and a separate support group for carers. It has been a great blessing for me to have been part of the Life Force team bringing these supportive care services to people in need. Seeing first hand how people have had their hearts eased and their spirits lifted through our programs is so rewarding, and it has been a privilege to be part of their lives.
Over the years, many others have continued the work, and as we prepare to enter our 25th year of service to the community as a charity, we celebrate many achievements during that time, and look forward to providing our healing programs for many years to come.
- Jilly Pascoe
Stephanie has been a long time supporter of the Life Force Cancer Foundation and first got involved as a volunteer and event fundraiser. "Having a family member going through treatment at the time, my involvement with Life Force as a volunteer was hugely supportive as well as being fun as I made many good friends as well."
More than 20 years down the track, much of my working life has been in the mental health NGO sector working in communications, policy, advocacy and training, I am happy to be getting involved with Life Force in a different way to continue the great work it does in the community supporting people in a very genuine way.
As a counsellor and educator, Jilly has led supportive care programs for people living with cancer for the past 25 years with Life Force Foundation, NSW Department of Health and in collaboration with TAFE NSW.
Jilly has been pleased to take up a position on the board again from 2017.
Nicole has been assisting with Life Force for nearly 20 years. With many years' experience as a chartered accountant, Nicole provides business and management insights into running organisations and managing finances.
She became a director in 2006 and is also LFCF Treasurer.
Angel attended LFCF sessions in late 2001 after his treatment for cancer that year. He strongly agrees with the philosophy of the foundation and has assisted in fundraising and in IT and Systems Management.
He became a director in 2006 and in 2017 was elected as President and held that position until 2019.
He rejoined the Board in 2021 and looks to continue to promote and support the work of the organisation.
Ann is a highly qualified Mental Health Nurse Consultant, Educator and Clinical Supervisor.
She has extensive experience in mental health facilities, community mental health, consultation liaison mental health in general hospitals including oncology and palliative care, aged care mental health, perinatal mental health, remote area mental health, Aboriginal mental health, and non-government organisations.
She also provides clinical supervision and training for pastoral care staff and is a part-time member of the Mental Health Review Tribunal.
Ann is also a cancer survivor.
Deidre Pinder has been a member of the Edgecliff Life Force group since 2010. She found the experience very helpful and fell into the role of Ambassador through informally networking and marketing the group.
She is now an Ambassador for Life Force, which involves marketing the group to the local hospitals and liaising with local health professionals.
Deidre is a social worker, has completed a workplace training certificate and human resource management diploma and partially completed a second degree in occupational therapy. She works for the public sector in a disability awareness training and policy role.
Anastasia has been a supporter of Life Force for many years. Anastasia supports the organisation with her business management skills and looking to raise funds to support Life Force programs.
I love reading the stories from cancer patients who have participated in the Life Force support groups and programs, and learning how much they have benefited from them.
I find their stories so moving and inspiring. This is why I cherish the volunteer work that I do for Life Force, as the Social Media Manager. Being able to see the wonderful work this incredible organisation does in providing care and support to all people living with cancer is truly humbling and inspiring.
It’s truly rewarding to play a part in raising awareness and promoting this amazing work. I am looking forward to seeing what they do next! 💚
Life Force is an incredible foundation, which has actively changed and shaped the lives of those involved. I love hearing and seeing firsthand the amazing impact that Life Force has on individuals unfortunately affected by cancer.
Having had someone in my immediate family been touched by cancer, it makes me proud to know I am part of an organisation that makes such an awful heartbreaking time a little more manageable, as the Administration and Grants Officer. Being able to see the wonderful work of this foundation is truly a blessing.
The people at Life Force are the most caring and supportive people. It is truly a blessing to be surrounded and supported by such inspiring people, making an incredible difference. I am proud to be part of the Life Force family and can’t wait to continue to see Life Force’s incredible work within the cancer community.
Life Force is a family of incredible people supporting each other through the worst life can throw at them. It’s a community that reflects the Australian mantra of mateship and supporting your neighbour. Being a small cog in this life-changing machine makes me incredibly proud, knowing that our work gives people hope, a renewed motivation and a network of like-minded people seeking comfort and reassurance in each other. There’s no organisation like Life Force, and I’m incredibly grateful that I can share my support and vision with everyone involved.
Caro Jonas and her friend Jilly Pascoe began running the first support groups in Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs in 1993. Caro is a founding member of Life Force Foundation and has been a major influence in the supportive care services.
She is a meditation, relaxation, and creative visualization teacher. Caro has spent a lifetime developing her skills and has worked in the support groups since 1993. She co-facilitates both support groups for patients and survivors in the Eastern Suburbs and the Inner West, as well as the carers’ group with devotion and care.
‘My years with Life Force have been so rewarding and wonderful. So many great people have been in the groups over the last twenty-five years. It has been a privilege to share their journeys and I’m grateful for the opportunity to help and support them.’
- Caro Jonas
Jane joined Life Force as a member of the Eastern Suburbs group in 1995 having had an emotional breakdown after her cancer treatment ended and found it so helpful that she decided to study counselling. Since completing her course, she has co-facilitated Life Force weekly support groups for patients and survivors and the separate carers & bereavement group for 20 years.
Jane believes that being a member of a Life Force group saved her life and she feels passionately about the value of the type of support that Life Force provides.
Because she believes so much in the value of this work, in her own private practice Jane now exclusively counsels people affected by cancer.
Enisa is a caring and multilingual counsellor & psychotherapist with a combined 19 years of experience globally, in a variety of customer-focused roles. Her experience and dedication to her profession and other people is further highlighted by the many hours that she has committed to a number of voluntary-based organisations.
Enisa is a valued member of Cancer Council NSW offering ongoing psycho-social support for cancer patients at Prince of Wales Hospital in Randwick.
I am a cancer survivor, and before retiring I was a secondary school teacher, and after retraining, a counsellor and Educational Psychologist .
I have been practising Qi Gong for 17 years, and am now authorised by my teacher, Simon Blow, to teach.
I Have trained extensively in Australia and China and am currently studying Traditional Chinese Medicine as it relates to Qigong.
I have also worked with Life Force for many years, as a counsellor, retreat leader and administrator. I first engaged with Life Force as a support group member. I benefited greatly from the programs. I am offering free online Qigong and meditation sessions to Life Force members.
As a counsellor and educator, Jilly has led supportive care programs for people living with cancer for the past 25 years with Life Force Foundation, NSW Department of Health and in collaboration with TAFE NSW.
Jilly established the first cancer support group in 1993, experiential supportive-expressive group work, based on her training in individual and group counselling, and grief and loss counselling, and informed by her own experience as a cancer patient.
Jilly conducts the Life Force Regional Supportive Care Project bringing access to psychosocial support to people living with cancer in rural, regional and remote areas across NSW through residential retreats, programs and workshops.
Eva is registered as a psychologist with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) and the Australian Psychological Society (APS), and is an experienced counsellor and supervisor with many years’ experience in a variety of roles in mental health. She is currently completing a Master of Counselling and Psychotherapy.
Eva has over 20 years' experience as a psychologist and is committed to making counselling therapy a compassionate and collaborative process, so you feel supported throughout the process. Eva works with you to help you find your resilience and strength. She is pleased to take up a position on the Life Force Counselling team to bring her skills to assist people living with cancer in NSW.
Sharon is a clinical psychologist and clinical neuropsychologist registered with AHPRA. She has extensive experience over many years in healthcare and as an educator and supervisor of Master of Clinical Psychology students.
Sharon has authored a number of research papers on mental health and has worked in community and hospital settings and private practice since the 80s. Sharon is a professional member of the Guardianship Tribunal of NSW.
As part of the Life Force Counselling Team, Sharon brings her extensive skills to support cancer patients, survivors and their families. Sharon first became involved with Life Force when she was going through treatment for cancer in 1995 and attended a Life Force support group. Her own experience with cancer adds an extra dimension of understanding and empathy to her work.
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