Monday Lunch Live

8 April 2024

Join Prof Michael Jefford and Prof Jon Emery as we review the profile of Victorian survivors and recent data regarding survivorship care. We look at improvement efforts over the last 15 years, the evidence to support different models of care, and considerations regarding future care of cancer survivors.

Over 350,000 Victorians are living with or beyond cancer. While most survivors require ongoing follow up, the dominant model of care – oncologist or haematologist-led, face-to-face and hospital-based – is no longer fit-for-purpose. There is strong evidence to support other models of care, including nurse-led follow up, general practitioner (GP)-led care, and shared care models, including sharing follow ups between GPs and hospital-based specialists.

For almost 15 years, the Victorian Government has supported enhanced focus on the care needs of cancer survivors. This session reviews the profile of survivors in Victoria and recent data regarding survivorship care in Victoria. Learn about improvement efforts over the last 15 years, the evidence to support different models of follow up care, and considerations regarding future care of cancer survivors in Victoria and across the country.

Chair

A/Prof Nicole Rankin    BA(Hons)  MSc  PhD
Head, Evaluation and Implementation Science Unit, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, the University of Melbourne. 

A/Prof Rankin is a Chief Investigator on over $16M worth of research grants, including two grants as CIA on lung cancer screening. Her research focuses on 'research translation' including how interventions can be rapidly adopted into clinical practice, particularly in lung cancer. She has published 75 manuscripts in highly relevant health services research journals. A/Prof Rankin was awarded a Churchill Fellowship in 2020 to explore strategies that enable people from disadvantaged communities to screen for lung cancer.

Speakers

Prof Michael Jefford    MBBS  MPH  MHlthServMt  PhD  GAICD  FRACP
Consultant Medical Oncologist and  Director, Australian Cancer Survivorship Centre

Prof Jefford's major clinical focus is on the management of people with gastrointestinal cancers. Most of his research has a cancer survivorship focus, aiming to better understand issues affecting survivors - to develop and implement strategies,  minimise post-treatment consequences, develop improved models of care, and better understand and minimise disparities in cancer survivorship outcomes. He has been awarded over A$21m in grant funding as a principal investigator and convened four successful biennial survivorship conferences. His numerous leadership roles include being a Board Member (Director) of the Clinical Oncology Society of Australia (COSA) and survivorship-focused leadership roles with COSA, the American Society of Clinical Oncology, International Psycho-Oncology Society and the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer. He is widely published with more than 210 publications. and has presented at numerous international meetings covering clinical oncology, survivorship, psycho-oncology and cancer control.

Prof Jon Emery   MBBCh  MA  DPhil  FRACGP  MRCGP
Herman Professor of Primary Care Cancer Research, the University of Melbourne; NHMRC Leadership Fellow; Director of the Cancer Australia Primary Care Collaborative Cancer Clinical Trials Group (PC4); VCCC Alliance Primary Care Research and Education Lead; Visiting Research Fellow, the University of Cambridge

Prof Jon Emery studied medicine at the University of Cambridge and the University of Oxford. He obtained his DPhil at Oxford University on computer decision support to assess cancer risk in general practice. His research interests are in the role of primary care across the cancer continuum, including prevention, early diagnosis and survivorship, aiming to improve the integration of health services. He leads a parallel program of cancer research between Melbourne and Cambridge on cancer screening, risk assessment and early diagnosis. He has published over 240 papers and sits on several national and international advisory committees related to cancer research, early detection and survivorship.