Cancer is now frequently considered a chronic disease, with 68% of those diagnosed expected to survive ≥ 5 years. Significant treatment advances have led to a substantial decrease in cancer mortality in adults. Cancer incidence has also increased sharply by 40% since 2007, with almost 150,000 Australians diagnosed in 2020 alone. Australia has one of the world’s highest cancer survivor rates, with more than a million of these survivors living in Australia. Across the world, there are 44 million cancer survivors who have been diagnosed within the previous five years. Improving the experiences of health care for physical and mental health cancer survivors should focus on increasing access to and improving the management of services, specifically allied health, through a variety of avenues, including reducing costs, increasing transport, and providing closer and more co-located services.Ĭancer is a prevalent and leading cause of disease burden globally.
There appear to be some inequities in the experiences of cancer survivors, particularly in accessing care. There was also a strong preference for increasing access to allied health care, such as physiotherapy, psychology, and remedial massage. The findings showed that a major issue facing cancer survivors was difficulties around access to and management of services for both their mental and physical health.
Analysis of the written responses was conducted using inductive qualitative content analysis. A total of 131 people (119 female, 12 male) with lived experience of a cancer diagnosis (at least 12 months ago) participated in an online survey collecting qualitative and quantitative data, advertised via social media groups and paid advertising.
The aim of the current study was to investigate the health and mental health care experiences and needs of Australian cancer survivors. People living with cancer experience many impacts on their health and mental health, and are thus likely to require ongoing health care.
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