Professor Gary Lee, Director of Pleural Services at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, has seen first-hand the distressing effects that pleural effusion can have on patients. With seed funding secured by Charlies Foundation for Research, Professor Lee and his team of specialists began two ground-breaking studies across hospitals in Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia. The studies sought to test the effectiveness of IPCs (indwelling pleural catheters), a small device that revolutionises treatment for pleural effusion by enabling patients to drain their own fluid at home.

This treatment not only gives patients more time with their families but saves over 14,000 hospital bed days across Australia each year Professor Lee’s breakthrough was supported by generous people like you and has already transformed countless lives.

“WA is now leading the world with treating pleurisy in cancer patients,” says Professor Lee. “We started all this research in the past 10 years and now at SCGH, we have a centralised service for all patients with pleural effusion. We are proud to show that in WA, we could design and lead high quality multi-centre clinical trials that improve treatment for patients worldwide. This is only possible through funding from supporters and the Foundation.”

For patient Carmela, Professor Lee’s IPC gave her precious time at home with her family.

“Without this plural implant I would’ve had to go daily to hospital with hours of fuss. But this procedure takes half an hour at home,” says Carmela. “Professor Lee is a very decent man who needs our support to fund his work and keep others from suffering.” 

Sadly, Carmela passed away March 29th, 2022, before we were able to publish this story. The Foundation is eternally grateful that during the last weeks of her life Carmela was still generously advocating for Professor Lee and the Foundation. Carmela dedicated her life to helping others and making a difference to every person she met, professionally and personally. 

Carmela shared her story with the Foundation in the hope that it will inspire more people to donate and to highlight the importance of medical research and the impact it had on her life. This will mean that medical researchers and doctors like Professor Lee can continue to create breakthroughs in patient care, at every stage of life.