NSW State Cancer Conference 2023

Working together: perspectives of a consumer-researcher on metastatic cancer survivorship research and service delivery in Australia (#41)

Andrea Smith 1
  1. University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia

Novel therapies are driving the emergence of a new population of cancer survivors, those with metastatic or advanced cancers. While rarely cured, many patients are now living several years with cancers that have spread to distant sites in the body. This is particularly true for metastatic breast, prostate, melanoma and colorectal cancers. In this talk I will discuss the need to revisit the cancer care continuum to ensure it recognises and supports this emerging population. I will bring my unique perspective as someone living with a stage IV, metastatic breast cancer diagnosis and who works as a research fellow on metastatic survivorship at The Daffodil Centre. I will discuss the advantages, and challenges, of being a consumer-researcher, and the critical importance of valuing lived experience when developing and delivering cancer research, policy and services.