Currently in Australia it’s anticipated that 1 in 2 Australian men and 1 in 3 Australian women will be diagnosed with cancer by the age of 85.  For many individuals and their families, timely access to psychosocial support services will be essential to enhance psychological, social and emotional well-being.

To date, the majority of psychosocial services for oncology patients have been provided through cancer centers, often being restricted in the mode of traditional face to face delivery.  However, with the increasing volume of cancer patients and cancer survivors and preference for care to be delivered as close to home as possible, a growing focus in recent years has been on the development of innovative models of care delivered through shared care arrangements and community support programs.

Form many cancer patients, their primary care provider remains key to the coordination and delivery of support though local referrals and government rebate programs. Community organization such as State-based Cancer Councils continue to provide a diverse range of group based and peer support approaches, whilst new and innovate approaches though the use of ICT including telephone counselling and online approaches are evolving to ensure those experience isolation due to remoteness, disease or disability are able to access the care they require.  Finally, the emergence of private multidisciplinary psychosocial services sees growing trend in the delivery of care.

This presentation will focus on the varied approaches to delivering psychosocial care and the new novel new ways providing opportunities for greater collaboration across the acute, community and primary care sector.