Grant awarded to Hunter cancer researcher Dungog Shire by News Of The Area - Modern Media - March 20, 2025 The University of Newcastle’s Dr Jennifer Mackney. FUNDING has been awarded to a Hunter-based researcher focused on improving outcomes for regional and rural cancer patients. The NSW Government funding comes as part of a $10 million boost to cancer research across NSW. Advertise with News of The Area today. It’s worth it for your business. Message us. Phone us – (02) 4981 8882. Email us – media@newsofthearea.com.au The 18 grants, delivered by the Cancer Institute NSW, include $798,790 to the University of Newcastle’s Dr Jennifer Mackney to improve patient access to prehabilitation services in rural and regional NSW. In 2024 approximately 165,000 people were diagnosed with cancer in Australia; around 132,000 of these people will need surgery, often multiple times. “Prehabilitation before cancer surgery – including exercise, nutritional optimisation, and psychological support – has been shown to improve physical function, halve postoperative pulmonary complications, and reduce postoperative hospital length of stay,” said Dr Mackney. “A model of care for the delivery of prehabilitation using in-person and telehealth intervention has been developed in Newcastle over the past five years and utilised clinically. “However, currently rural and regional patients don’t have equitable access to formal prehabilitation programs.” The grant will enable Dr Mackney to extend access to the prehabilitation program for cancer patients across five regional and rural hospitals, three in the Hunter New England LHD and two in the Mid North Coast LHD.
