No images? Click here e-newsletter | November 2021Fiona Stanley Hospital Cancer Centre: Treatments and tourGeneral practice health professionals are invited to attend an evening education and information session at Fiona Stanley Hospital. The session will include a presentation from Head of Service, Medical Oncology, and a tour of the Cancer Centre. Primary care health professionals are invited to express interest and provide a question or topic you would like addressed in the presentation. This event would be most relevant for health professionals practicing within the Fiona Stanley Hospital catchment area. Palliative and Supportive Care Education (PaSCE)PaSCE is the preferred service provider of palliative care professional development education, which is available for all health professionals including those working in primary care. PaSCE collaborates with experienced palliative care clinicians to develop and deliver evidence-based education that facilitates the development of current knowledge and confidence in delivering optimal palliative care. PaSCE has a variety of education opportunities available throughout the month of November. Past event recordings availableNew paediatric resource availableCancer Council WA and Perth Children’s Hospital have collaboratively developed a new resource to support health professionals working with paediatric patients. The resource highlights the key warning signs of cancer in children, and the potential late effects of childhood and adolescent cancer treatment. This resource is designed to be used alongside clinical judgement and professional experience. Free hard-copies are available to order. Impact of the pandemic on 14 cancer types in 2020A report produced by Cancer Australia highlights the impact of COVID-19 on cancer-related medical services and procedures in Australia. An analysis of Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) data from 2020 shows substantial reductions in procedures relating to cancer-related investigations and treatment, compared to the expected number of services based on historical data from 2017–2019. In 2020 in Australia, there were 163,595 (8%) fewer cancer-related diagnostic procedures services for 14 cancer types: breast, colorectal, lung, prostate, melanoma, stomach, kidney, pancreatic, liver, uterine, ovarian, cervical, vaginal, and vulval cancer. Any potential delays in diagnoses and treatment in response to these reductions in services may lead to more cancers being diagnosed at a later stage and poorer patient outcomes. Find Cancer Early - Regional champions campaign re-launchedFind Cancer Early is re-running its Regional Champions campaign which features personal testimonies from regional champions highlighting common symptoms of cancer, and encouraging other regional people to visit their GP, clinic nurse or Aboriginal health worker if they have an unusual symptom. Regional general practitioners may notice an increase in the number of patients visiting clinics to discuss possible cancer symptoms, particularly those highlighted in the campaign, including “shortness of breath, looser poo, or problems peeing”. To support regional health professionals, the ‘Find Cancer Early: A Guide for General Practitioners’ resource aims to assist in the early diagnosis of patients with prostate, lung, colorectal, breast, and skin cancer. This resource uses evidence-based positive predictive value (PPV) tables that highlight the clinical features that best predict cancer. Free hard-copies are available to order. New guidelines on the treatment of alcoholAlcohol remains a major concern in WA, yet it is becoming cheaper, easier to buy, and harder to avoid. Persistent alcohol marketing and the ability to shop online with home delivery make it difficult for people trying to cut down or stop drinking. New data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows an 8.3 per cent increase in the age-standardised rate of alcohol-induced deaths in Australia between 2019 and 2020. The increase is due to conditions associated with long-term harms from drinking including liver cirrhosis. There is opportunity for screening and intervention in general practice and community health settings for people who use alcohol. New guidelines on the treatment of alcohol are now available with an overview of the recommendations published in the Medical Journal of Australia. Research study: Building mutual trust in general practiceResearchers at the University of NSW, School of Population Health are conducting a project to:
GPs are invited to complete an anonymous 5 minute online survey and/or participate in a semi-structured interview. The interview will take approximately 30 minutes to complete, and participants will be offered a $120 shopping voucher. If you would like more information about the research study, please email Kylie Vuong, kylie.vuong@unsw.edu.au. Our Cancer Nurses can help general practice health professionals and their patients with evidence-based cancer advice and support. Speak to our Cancer Nurses on 13 11 20. |