Meet Gabi Storer

Gabi Storer, Radiation Therapist at Icon Cancer Centre Cairns (Liz Plummer), is committed to closing the healthcare gap in rural Queensland, providing exceptional care to Cairns and surrounding cancer patients, extending far beyond the typical duties of a radiation therapist.

Despite the inherent challenges of rural healthcare, Gabi is unwavering in her efforts to ensure that the people of Far North Queensland receive the best care possible.

Read on to discover Gabi’s journey into radiation therapy and rural healthcare, how the team at Icon Cairns overcame the challenges of rural care, and more on her recent presentation at the 2024 ASMIRT Conference.

Fostering a radiation therapy career

Growing up in rural Swan Hill, Victoria, Gabi understood the unique challenges of accessing high-quality healthcare in remote areas. While radiation therapy wasn’t on her radar as a child, her experiences and passion for helping people led her to a fulfilling career.

“I stumbled across radiation therapy while choosing my university preferences in Year 12, and I must admit, I didn’t know what it entailed at the time,” Gabi recalled.

“My original plan was to become a teacher as I was always passionate about education and helping others – but I also had a calling to healthcare.

“When I discovered radiation therapy, I realised I could combine these passions in a way I hadn’t previously known.”

Gabi completed her Bachelor of Medical Radiation at Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) University, where she got to experience all streams of medical radiation – falling in love with radiation therapy.

A Career of Connection and Care

Through her university placements and graduate year at Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre – Gabi discovered her life-long passion for radiation therapy.

“What I loved most about radiation therapy was the high level of patient interaction,” Gabi said.

“You get to follow the patient through their treatment journey, seeing the impact you’re making firsthand. Unlike other medical-imaging specialties, you build ongoing relationships, which is incredibly rewarding.”

Beyond her ever-evolving clinical role, Gabi continues her interest in education, mentoring upcoming radiation therapy students.

Gabi highlights the unique challenges of working in rural healthcare.

“We have limited access from allied health and patient services in Cairns, so our roles are more expansive – helping bridge the gap,” Gabi explained.

“We aim to help our patients have the same experience as they would in a metropolitan area – providing transport, accommodation and any extra support they need.

“As a radiation therapist in Cairns, you truly get to be the one to create the best care and experience possible for your patients which you might not get as a young RT in a more metropolitan centre.”

Overcoming the challenges through collaboration

One of the significant challenges Gabi and her team faced was upgrading their linear accelerators to the new Varian TrueBeam machine in 2022 after 11 years of operation.

“The challenge was that our old and new machines were non-interchangeable – meaning we couldn’t change patients between machines each day – this meant we had to create two treatment plans for each patient (one for each machine), this ensured we could treat patients on both machines in case there were any breakdowns,” Gabi explained.

“As the only public Radiation Therapy service in the Cairns and surrounding, it was vital to continue delivering essential care or else patients would require extensive travel away from family, friends and everyday life for care.”

“The multidisciplinary collaboration of site manager, radiation therapists, physicists and radiation oncologists allowed us to overcome these challenges and helped us realise our capabilities as a team in providing exceptional care every time,” Gabi said.

Expanding capabilities

Gabi presented at the 2024 ASMIRT Conference in May, reflecting on the team’s experience during this upgrade – her first time presenting at a conference. 

“I feel this was one of the greatest experiences I could have as a young clinical professional,” Gabi expressed. 

“Creating the presentation allowed myself and the team to reflect on our experience, discuss improvements, and strive for better outcomes in the future. It also boosted my confidence as a communicator and educator.” 

Gabi encourages all radiation therapists and other clinical professionals to get involved in industry conferences.  

“Discuss your interest in presenting at a conference with your leaders; they can guide you on the right path, including topic selection and conference opportunities,” Gabi advised. 

“Presenting at conferences fosters professional development and helps make valuable industry connections and explore new approaches.