Current work

The current work of the ACSC address the six strategic objectives outlined in our
Strategic Plan 2020 - 2025
.

IMPROVE SURVIVORS’ ACCESS TO INFORMATION AND RESOURCES

ACSC provides supports for survivors and their carers, families and friends through:

We are also creating a network of resources to support Australian cancer survivors in partnership with other organisations.

Supporting underserved cancer survivors

The ACSC has successfully completed three Cancer Australia funded projects delivering the resource ‘On the road to recovery’ in the following versions:

The ACSC has also created a glossary in nine languages to support professionals including translators and interpreters.

These projects were part of Cancer Australia’s Supporting people with cancer grant initiative, funded by the Australian Government.

For more information email, [email protected].

SUPPORT IMPROVED SURVIVORSHIP CARE AT PETER MAC AND ACROSS THE PARKVILLE PRECINCT

The ACSC is collaborating with clinical services to define and deliver optimal survivorship care. ACSC is working to understand the experiences and outcomes for survivors. By engaging effectively with clinical leaders ACSC is working to build capacity for delivery of optimal survivorship care.

ACSC coordinates professional development opportunities through a range of workshops, forums and in-services tailored to meet the needs of health and community services and/or professional groups. The professional development program promotes care that is evidenced-based, multidisciplinary and delivered in the appropriate setting.

We also provide advice and clinical expertise to support implementation or expansion of survivorship care to the hospitals that form part of the Parkville precinct: Peter Mac, Royal Melbourne Hospital and Royal Women’s Hospital.

Current projects include:

To discuss potential professional development opportunities, please email [email protected].

BUILD CAPACITY FOR DELIVERY OF SURVIVORSHIP CARE IN THE COMMUNITY

ACSC supports primary, hospital and community based health professionals to deliver optimal survivorship care through:

Supporting collaboration

The ACSC delivers the Survivorship Community of Practice in partnership with the Department of Health.

This forum is for people who share a passion for cancer survivorship.

Attendees are health professionals from hospitals, community and non-government organisations. Regular presentations include updates from the Victorian Cancer Survivorship Program, an initiative of the Department of Health.

There are three Survivorship Community of Practice events each year, please visit our health professionals events page for details on our upcoming event.

Participants can also join the online collaborative workspace, to access evidence-based resources, presentations, and a discussion board.

For membership queries, email [email protected].

Community support organisations’ cancer survivorship care consensus statement

ACSC convened a number of forums of Community Support Organisations to discuss work relating to cancer survivorship. A major recommendation from these forums was the development of a consensus statement. ACSC has facilitated that process.

Information regarding the consensus statement is outlined below.

What is the purpose of the consensus statement?

To articulate the vital role of community support organisations in the provision of survivorship care to Australians of all ages who have been diagnosed with cancer.

Who has the consensus statement been developed for?
  • Primary care providers
  • Hospital-based providers
  • Community support organisation providers and patient organisations
  • Funders
  • Policy makers (State and Federal Government)
  • Researchers
  • Cancer survivors and those affected by cancer
What is the intended use of the consensus statement?

To communicate the role of community support organisations in providing survivorship care in order to: promote better understanding amongst audience groups, to consider how community providers can be best incorporated as part of the continuum of care, to improve integrated referral pathways, to support advocacy and collaboration within the sector (including collaborative funding opportunities) and to improve understanding across the health sector more broadly.

Download the 

Community Support Organisations' Cancer Survivorship Care Consensus Statement.
 

ACSC would like to thank all of the organisations that have endorsed the statement.

ADVOCATE FOR SYSTEM CHANGE TO SUPPORT OPTIMAL SURVIVORSHIP CARE

The ACSC aims to raise awareness of survivorship care across the health system. We do this through our collaborative work including that described above, as well as through providing content expertise and advice.

We contributed advice to the development of a number of key principle documents in Australia including:

To find out more, see our newsletters and publications. 

PROMOTE EVIDENCE BASED SURVIVORSHIP CARE

We contribute to the evidence base by publishing the results of our work, and disseminating the latest research to our network.

Health professionals can refer to guidance documents on common survivorship issues via the Common Survivorship Issues Directory.  

Health professionals

We review the survivorship literature to provide summaries of the evidence and toolkits to guide implementation.

To find out more, sign-up to receive our newsletters.

DELIVER A ROBUST AND SUSTAINABLE PROGRAM

As the number of cancer survivors continues to grow, the need to improve the care they receive grows. The ACSC is a small team with a diverse skill-set, well positioned to support and enable excellent survivorship care for this growing population. As the need for our work continues to grow, we are seeking additional funding.

To discuss funding or collaborative opportunities, contact our Manager, Helana Kelly.