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The cancer journey can be a life changing experience, presenting many challenges for patients, carers and family members.. Many people find enormous value in sharing the journey, researching their illness and playing an active role in the experience. There are a host of options that provide different types and levels of Personal Support during cancer diagnosis, treatment and post treatment Personal Support is grouped into the following sub-categories:
Cancer Support Groups provide an opportunity to meet other people with similar experiences. Within the group you can share feelings, ideas and experiences with people just like yourself. Often the groups are also a wonderful information resource. Some Cancer Support Groups are dedicated to a particular tumour stream eg Breast, while others have been developed as general Cancer Support Groups for adults or children. There is likely to be a Cancer Support Group in your area. If the Directory does not have a group near you, please call the Cancer Council Victoria on 13 11 20. Cancer Council Victoria (CCV) offers a 1-day training course for Cancer Support Group members and/or facilitators. Some Cancer Support Groups are affiliated with CCV. This involves an agreement that the Cancer Support Group is non-profit making and will provide CCV with an annual update report providing an overview of group attendance and activities. The facilitor and/or other members of the Group must also attend at least 2- 4 hours of cancer related education each year. Finally, the Group must adhere to the CCV policies relating to confidentiality, providing treatment advice and advocating unproven treatments. They must keep all records in a safe manner. There are Cancer education courses available for people with cancer and their carers and family. Some courses are designed to provide strategies to assist you to live with your disease, some other courses can help you to ‘Look good’ while you are doing it! For information on courses outside the Hume Region contact the Cancer Council Helpline on 13 11 20. Caring for someone with cancer can be a fulfilling experience, however at times it can also be stressful and frustrating. There are a range of support options available for carers. Many of the services available to cancer patients (eg Social Workers) are also available to Carers. Services available may include:
Cancer diagnosis and treatment can prompt many patients, carers and family members to actively seek information to assist their understanding of the disease and treatment options. Accurate and adequate information can help patients feel more in control of what is happening to them. How much information a patient needs during cancer treatment can vary dramatically. If you want to know more then it is important to ask for further assistance. Also ask the members of your treatment team to clarify any queries you may have. Cancer information may come in many forms including booklets, books, research papers and internet websites. It may also be provided verbally by the Specialist Cancer Nurse, GP or members of the treatment team. Additionally, there are a range of service providers who provide information including the Cancer Cancer Victoria on 13 11 20. When dealing with clinical matters, it is common to encounter technical words that are difficult to understand. For this reason we provide links to a number of websites that provide a Glossary of terms. Increasingly we are turning to the internet as our main source of information. The internet is quick and private in accessing information, and also offers access to support networks with others who have had similar experiences. When researching cancer on the web it is important to be mindful that the information is vast and can be quite overwhelming. This can cause confusion and anxiety. Also consider that the internet is not filtered and may contain inaccurate information. It is advisable that you discuss your internet research with your Specialist Cancer Nurse or other members of your treatment team. They will be able to assist you in assessing the quality and value of the information found on the internet. Elsewhere in this website we provide Links to a number of internet sites which might assist you in your research. We also provide the website address of any service provider listed in the Hume Cancer Services Directory. In this Internet support sub-category we list websites which are developed specifically to provide support. There are a number of organisations which provide their information translated into different languages. Also, the Health Translations Directory provides links to health information translated into community languages. This directory links to online multilingual health resources from government departments, peak health bodies, hospitals, community health centres and welfare agencies. You can search by topic, by language, or both. Telephone support programs provide accessible and confidential one-on-one support to anyone affected by cancer: patient, carers, friends and family. Some cater specifically for people with cancer whilst others are for the carers. Some offer more general support to those in need, for example someone suffering acute anxiety. Telephone support is particularly relevant to those who live in a rural area or are socially isolated. There are a number of organisations which provide support to young people with cancer. |
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| Last Updated ( Monday, 22 September 2008 12:15 ) |
