Sunshine Coast HNC Support Group

We are a patient led support group for people and their carers/families based in the Sunshine Coast who have experienced Head and Neck Cancer. We meet monthly either online or in person.

For meetings please contact:

[email protected]
M: 0405 478 020

A bit of history:

In 2019 Carol Adams walked out of Sunshine Coast University Private Hospital after having a third of her tongue removed and reconstructed and 36 rounds of radiation therapy traumatised and needing support. She needed to be around others who had experienced what she had, but there was no way of finding them so she decided to establish the Head and Neck Cancer Support Group Sunshine Coast in mid-2021.

On a Saturday night in July, 2022, Carol and fellow group members, Chris and Christina Fletcher and Julie and Peter Lewis brought together over 140 family and friends at the Headland Golf Club to raise awareness of head and neck cancer and much needed funds for Head and Neck Cancer Australia with their inaugural #soupforthesoul event.

With the help of a great MC, Annette Sym of Symply Too Good, entertaining auctioneer, Rueben Park of Ray White Maroochydore, the hard work of her support group in soliciting raffles and auction items from local businesses, the support of her family Yvette Adams and the generosity of the people who attended, the group raised over $13,000 in one evening!

140 people also walked away having learned more about the changing face of #headandneckcancer, the signs and symptoms to look out for and the unique challenges faced by people living with #HNC after an emotional speech from Cancer Nurse, Ebony Hetherington from the Sunshine Coast University Hospital.

Thank you to Carol and her team for organising such a wonderful event to support Head and Neck Cancer Australia and for all that you do to support each other and to raise awareness of HNC in your local community.

2022

2023

Head and Neck Cancer group Sunshine Coast held a second fundraiser on the 29th July 2023 at the Headlands Golf Club, which was another wonderful success.

We held an auction and had lots of wonderful raffles to be won. Some of the money was donated to HANCA to help with the wonderful job they do for the whole of Australia, and what with what we have left we will make Care Packages for Head and Neck Cancer sufferers on the Sunshine Coast.

We are already planning next years' bash!

2024

2024 was another busy year for us as we started distributing our care Boxes.

We started by making up 50 at one time. They were distributed by our Nurse for Head and Neck Cancer at the Scuh Ebony Hetherington, who gave them out to the ones she thought would need them.

The group started to organise their Annual July Fundraiser, and had committee meetings to discuss progress.

The July Fundraiser was held on Saturday the 13^th at the Headlands Golf Club. The Night was a huge success and The Auction and Raffles sold well. Then after the Officials were over , the Band M7 played and got a lot of people up on the dance floor.

We had two guest speakers one was Ebony Hetherington who works with Head and Neck Cancer patients as they are diagnosed at the Sunshine Coast University Hospital.

The other speaker was Marty Doyle who is an Ambassador for Head and Neck Cancer Australia and founded a group in Brisbane in 2005.

We Raised around $27,000.00 which we then donated some with Head and Neck Cancer Australia, Wishlist on the Sunshine Coast and Bloomhill in Buderim. All going towards helping Head and Neck Patients.

Some Photos of our great night and our care packages.

2024-2025

It was a sad start to the year with the group, with the sudden passing of one of our most dedicated supportive Commitee member Christopher Fletcher who made the most of every moment of life and brought much Joy to those around him. We miss him tremendously.

We also had other Committee Members who were not well during this time and at one stage thought we might have to fold the group, or at least not have a fundraiser.

Our Committee members who are made up of Carol and Jeff Adams , Brett Adams, Peter and Julie Ann Lewis, and Adrienne Smith. Others that help are our families and our accountant Sarah Kerr who all volunteer their time, to make sure we are doing things right and get through what has to be done.

We also had the M7 Band who again donated their time and entertained the crowd and got people up dancing and singing along to the songs we knew. We will again be supporting the people who are helping Head and Neck Patients on the Sunshine Coast, and of course Head and Neck Cancer Australia.

Below are some photos of our 12^th July 2025 Fundraiser.