A HOPEful approach to cancer navigation in South Australia

The SA Can­cer Nav­i­ga­tion Frame­work and Action Plan recog­nis­es that nav­i­gat­ing can­cer care can be com­plex and, at times, over­whelm­ing — par­tic­u­lar­ly for those fac­ing bar­ri­ers to access. Improv­ing coor­di­na­tion, equi­ty and per­son-cen­tred care is essen­tial to achiev­ing bet­ter out­comes and expe­ri­ences for peo­ple affect­ed by cancer. 

In response, South Aus­tralia is strength­en­ing con­nect­ed can­cer care through the Holis­tic care and Opti­mis­ing Patient Expe­ri­ence (HOPE) Sub-com­mit­tee.

Oper­at­ing under the South Aus­tralian Com­pre­hen­sive Can­cer Net­work (SAC­CaN), HOPE brings togeth­er clin­i­cians, researchers, com­mu­ni­ty organ­i­sa­tions and peo­ple with lived expe­ri­ence. It focus­es on con­nect­ing and ampli­fy­ing exist­ing work, strength­en­ing col­lab­o­ra­tion and sup­port­ing a more coor­di­nat­ed, sys­tem-wide approach to improv­ing holis­tic can­cer care and patient experience. 

HOPE spans three key areas: can­cer nav­i­ga­tion, sur­vivor­ship, and sup­port­ive care. Over the next 12 months, the sub-com­mit­tee will align shared pri­or­i­ties, increase vis­i­bil­i­ty of exist­ing work, and strength­en con­nec­tions across sectors. 

Co-chaired by A/​Prof Car­olyn Ee from Flinders Uni­ver­si­ty (pic­tured left) and Hol­ly Hug­gins, con­sumer co-lead (pic­tured right), HOPE reflects a strong part­ner­ship between clin­i­cal lead­er­ship and lived experience. 

“HOPE is a unique oppor­tu­ni­ty to bring peo­ple with lived expe­ri­ence, clin­i­cians and researchers togeth­er through cross-sec­tor col­lab­o­ra­tion and con­sumer lead­er­ship, work­ing towards a com­mon goal of improv­ing out­comes for peo­ple liv­ing with and beyond can­cer in South Aus­tralia.” – Car­olyn Ee

​“By bring­ing the real­i­ties of the patient and car­er jour­ney to the HOPE sub-com­mit­tee, I aim to high­light that our lived per­spec­tive is a vital piece of the clin­i­cal puz­zle. When we con­sid­er a per­son­’s lived real­i­ty as being just as impor­tant as a clin­i­cal result, that is when true, sys­temic progress hap­pens.” – Hol­ly Huggins