Kinematics Polytron System To Aid Childhood Cancer Research

The West Pennant Hills Cherrybrook Lions Club and The NSW Lions Public Health Foundation has responded to the needs of the Westmead Children’s Hospital Oncology Research Unit and presented a Kinematics Polytron System to assist  their scientists carry out vital cancer research.  

The new Polytron equipment is state-of-art, which will greatly assist the Tumour Bank isolate and analyse genetic material for various current cancer research projects. The Children’s Hospital at Westmead currently has over 25,000 cancer specimens donated by patients in the course of their treatment. The collection represents 50 varying cancer types. The machine will facilitate a better understanding of the various cancers and provide information sharing on a world-wide basis.

The Club’s President, Mr. Ken Budden, said that the West Pennant Hills Club continues to be a major donor to the Oncology Unit’s work because our members have a high focus on cancer projects that assist the survival rate of young children patients. Ken added that, as the equipment did not qualify for government funding, the Westmead Children’s Hospital is reliant on community volunteer organizations like Lions International to provide vital tools for ongoing  research.

During the presentation ceremony, Associate Professor, Dr. Jennifer Byrne, Acting Head of the Children’s Cancer Research Unit, on behalf of the Hospital, thanked the Lions for their hard work in raising much needed funds from the  community. She said that the unit’s scientific team appreciated the donation to assist furthering their work into the causes of cancer and improving patient treatments and outcomes.  

Club President Ken Budden and Foundation Director Jean-Claude Legrand receiving a Polytron demo.