Professor Paul McMurrick

Two nights ago, a good mate of Paul McMurrick’s was rushed to emergency in need of urgent surgery. Prof McMurrick operated on him and saved his life.

“When I walked in the next morning and held his hand, he told me how much better he felt and how now that he knows he’s not going to die, how much better things are. These are the sorts of things that make us want to get out of bed in the middle of the night and come and help people when they’re ill,” McMurrick explains.

Let’s Beat Bowel Cancer (LBBC) is a Cabrini initiative aimed at significantly lowering deaths related to bowel cancer through public awareness, research and medical advances.

It’s because of the donations made to LBBC that Prof McMurrick can continue to save lives, including the lives of some of the people closest to him.

“When people donate, it gives us confirmation that people understand and support what it is that we’re trying to do to help them. It encourages us to keep going with what we’re doing and it gives us a great sense of personal satisfaction that the work we’re doing is actually impacting on people’s lives,” he explains.

“People wouldn’t donate if we didn’t believe in what we’re doing.”

LBBC runs research projects to identify key developments in treatment and care and works to promote early screening and detection.

As with all funds donated through Cabrini Foundation, administration costs are covered by Cabrini which means that every cent a donor gives is channelled into work to save patients’ lives.

“We are very proud to think that every cent we receive in donations is channelled effectively into programs that we know are going to make a tangible difference to patients and patient care,” says Paul.

“Every cent that comes to us is being used effectively to reduce the impact of bowel cancer on patients’ lives.

“We’re actually measuring what that impact is on patients’ lives, effectively and we’re asking the patients to help us measure what it is that’s had an impact on their lives. We’re tremendously proud of that infrastructure.”

For more information about LBBC and its work, please visit: http://www.letsbeatbowelcancer.com