Grampians Cancer Care Staff Spotlight - Mel & Leah
Acknowledging Our Cancer Care Workforce
Across our region, staff delivering cancer care bring extraordinary skill, compassion and commitment to some of the most challenging moments in people’s lives. Every day, clinicians, allied health professionals, nurses, support staff and administrators work together to provide care that is not only clinically excellent, but deeply human.
We want to shine a spotlight on these individuals and teams to recognise the impact of their work—often carried out quietly, consistently and with unwavering dedication. By sharing their stories and achievements, we acknowledge the vital role they play in supporting patients, families and each other, and celebrate the collective effort that underpins high‑quality cancer care in our region.
Below are examples of two members of our cancer care workforce whose work exemplifies this dedication; Melanie Alford & Leah Adams.
Melanie Alford
McGrath Cancer Care Nurse
Grampians Health – Ballarat
I have lived in Ballarat most of my life and have two teenage children.
My favourite things in life (aside from my kids of course) are travel, summer time, the beach and socialising with friends with a glass of wine in hand.
Medical oncology nursing has predominately been my area of specialty over the past 25 years. I have worked in the private day oncology space for most of my career before commencing a position with the amazing Grampians Health (GH) – Home Based Cancer Care service (allowing patients to have cancer treatment in the comfort of their own home).
I feel fortunate to have joined the McGrath nurse team in March 2025. My role as the “McGrath All Cancer Nurse” at Grampians Health (GH) is to provide patients and families support, advocacy and coordination throughout all stages of the cancer journey.
A large component of my role is to support Head and Neck and Gynae cancer patients; as these tumour streams have been identified as having gaps in supportive care at GH. Referrals for other tumour streams are always welcomed too however.
This service is free and anyone can refer a patient. It can be as simple as sending me a patient name and contact number, then I can do the rest.
I prefer to see patient’s face to face building a reassuring rapport and for patients to get to know a friendly and familiar face. I can also provide support over a phone call.
If a patient only needs to remember one name and one number in this whole cancer journey – I am that person to help navigate them through what is such a traumatic time in their lives.
My vision for GH is for the McGrath Cancer Nurse workforce to increase in fulltime positions.
It would be beneficial if each specific tumour stream had a dedicated McGrath Cancer Nurse, as every cancer patient deserves support.
I have had involvement with the GICS team all throughout my cancer nursing career.
I have appreciated the individual support when setting up a new service, for example, and have also appreciated the opportunities for funded education experiences to enhance cancer nurses skills and knowledge.
Leah Adams
Clinical Nurse Specialist / Day Oncology
Grampians Health – Horsham
Leah (pictured left) at the 2025 CNSA Conference with poster presentation ‘Animating our patients – improving how patients learn about their chemotherapy treatment‘.
This service improvement project was funded by a GICS grant – find out more.
I grew up in Horsham – then lived in Adelaide, Perth & Alice Springs before coming back to Horsham.
My coffee order? I’m allergic to coffee or severely intolerant. So…I live off English Breakfast tea.
My role currently involves my main cancer stream, Head & Neck, but also includes Gynae, Upper GI & Brain.
I think in future, if there could be an increase in staff resourcing, hopefully one day, every patient will go through treatment with a specialist nurse, as it makes such a difference.
GICS is always there for assistance – networking with other supportive care providers, grants for quality improvement / training etc.
Having worked in other Australian states, that don’t have Integrated Cancer Services, the impact they have is evident to me and has already made a huge difference in how I think about cancer services.
