Quest Apartment Hotels and the Sony Foundation are launching an initiative to help support young Aussies diagnosed with cancer.
One third of young people affected by cancer live in regional or rural areas and the You Can Stay program provides free accommodation in a Quest Apartment Hotel for cancer patients aged 15 – 25 across the country who live 100km or more from their treating hospital, subject to eligibility.
The length of stay is not capped and is available to both in-patients and out-patients and their family members, with options of 1- and 2-bedroom apartments, at no cost to the patient or their families.
Patient data from the You Can Stay program based on average cost and number of nights suggests families pay on average $7000 to stay in accommodation close to the hospitals.
Young patients from the country are disproportionately burdened by the costs of cancer, according to a report by Deloitte*, simply by living out of metropolitan areas and their age. They are typically diagnosed with rare cancers of the blood, brain, bone and soft tissue requiring intense treatment in city hospitals.
In early 2020, Sony Foundation and Quest started placing patients in emergency accommodation at no cost to the patients. To date, 15 patients nationally have been provided with more than 750 nights paid for in charitable funding.
David Mansfield, Quest Apartment Hotels COO, said the Quest team was surprised to learn about the shortage of accommodation options for teenagers and young adults with cancer when Sony Foundation approached the franchise chain in 2019.
“As Australia’s largest serviced apartment operator, we knew we could make an impact and were compelled to act. We know that when these guests come to us, it’s a terribly challenging time so we have implemented a tailored bookings process to make things easier and support their unique requirements. Today, we can proudly say Quest is only ever a phone call away.
“We would like to thank Sony Foundation for inviting us along on this important journey. We look forward to making a continued impact together through the You Can Stay initiative and seeing that no young person fighting cancer goes without a place to call home, for a day, week, month, or even year at a time.”
Sophie Ryan, CEO of Sony Foundation Australia said, “You Can Stay is needed now more than ever during this pandemic to ensure cancer patients are able to access cancer treatment in the city in safe surroundings. We predict approximately 250 regional patients nationally aged 15 – 25 years will need between 8,000 -10,000 nights of accommodation over the next 12 months which Sony Foundation is committed to funding.
“We are incredibly grateful for our partner Quest, and all our donors who acknowledge the disparity between country and city services for cancer patients and are committed to helping us fill this gap through a business minded, philanthropic solution.”
*The economic cost of cancer in adolescents and young adults’. January 2018. Report by Deloitte.
