![Nurse Sophie Gunning, second from left, has received a $12,000 scholarship with Rotary's Bob McMillan, Peter's Project director Vicki Jellie, Rotary's James Mepham and Vedmore Foundation's John Sambell there to make the presentation. Picture by Sean McKenna Nurse Sophie Gunning, second from left, has received a $12,000 scholarship with Rotary's Bob McMillan, Peter's Project director Vicki Jellie, Rotary's James Mepham and Vedmore Foundation's John Sambell there to make the presentation. Picture by Sean McKenna](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/nB9BrLNgExsfwsLgDBevWP/06af02b1-5727-40ba-8f2f-ca70008e7d3b.jpg/r0_0_5120_3409_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
A $12,000 scholarship will ensure regional cancer patients in the south-west are not disadvantaged by their distance from the city.
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The scholarship was awarded to cancer support nurse Sophie Gunning at Warrnambool's cancer centre.
Ms Gunning has been a nurse for five years and worked in metropolitan Melbourne before moving to the south-west two years ago.
She spent her graduation year at The Alfred working in the haematology/oncology ward.
Ms Gunning said her cousin was a cancer nurse and inspired her to choose the same career path. "That's where I first found my passion for cancer nursing," she said.
The scholarship - which was funded by both Peter's Project and the Vedmore Foundation - was facilitated by the Rotary Club of Warrnambool Central.
"The graduate certificate in cancer nursing is an exceptional opportunity to better the nursing outcomes of individuals diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma in regional and rural Victoria, ensuring they are never disadvantaged to accessing specialist Myeloma nursing support," Ms Gunning said.
"I strive to provide the highest standard of support and advice at every stage of their journey and feel very grateful to have been awarded this scholarship to do so."
Rotary club member Bob McMillan said the idea came from the Camberwell Rotary Club who were active in raising awareness of Multiple Myeloma - the same cancer he has.
They had sponsored a nurse scholarship in regional Victoria and asked the Warrnambool club to do the same.
But the club had already committed most of its funds for the year already, so it reached out to Peter's Project and the Vedmore Foundation who chipped in half each.
Peter's Project director Vicki Jellie said the foundation was thrilled to be involved in projects that would benefit the region in cancer services.
She said the foundation continued to distribute the funds the community had generously donated over the years.
Vedmore Foundation's John Sambal said it was pleased to support a worthy cause.