Cancer affects all of us, so we’re standing up to improve cancer outcomes across NSW, for those who need it most.
We’re partnering with like-minded organisations to increase support for people with cancer and save lives.
We’re collaborating with community to deliver culturally specific resources and using our platform to campaign for positive change.
Working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to improve cancer outcomes
As Australia’s leading cancer charity, our goal is to stand by everyone affected by cancer. But we know that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples experience higher rates of cancer and are more likely to be impacted greater from cancer than non-Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
This is why we have committed to an organisational Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) and support all approaches to reduce health inequities that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples face.
The All about cancer for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples website was produced with extensive consultation led by Ngakkan Nyaagu (NGNY).
It contains stories like Scott Lyons’, a personal trainer inspired by his grandmother’s experience to promote healthy life choices in his community.
To deliver our RAP and the new website, we have been collaborating with community members such as Uncle Clarke Scott, a Wiradjuri man and member of our Aboriginal Advisory Committee.
For Uncle Clarke, awareness, collaboration and trust are key: “I think it’s mainly about the word being out among the community. ” he says.
If you are looking for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander-tailored information, visit our cancer information website produced together with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
If you have any questions or concerns about cancer, call Cancer Council’s free Information and Support number on 13 11 20.
Helping LGBTQI+ people navigate cancer
In 2023 during Sydney World Pride, we delivered a landmark publication, and the first of its kind in the world, for people affected by cancer in Australia’s LGBTQI+ communities: LGBTQI+ People and Cancer: A guide for people with cancer, their families and friends.
This new 80-page booklet was developed by Cancer Council NSW and created as part of Western Sydney University’s Out with Cancer research project in collaboration with Professor Jane Ussher and her team.
The new resource answers common questions and offers tips for navigating a cancer diagnosis when you are LGBTQI+ – (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and other diverse sexualities and genders, as well as people with intersex variations).
Read more about the research into LGBTQI+ experiences which informed this resourceA cancer centre displaying this booklet sends an instantly recognisable message that the team is truly welcoming LGBTQI+ patients. This will bring relief and a sense of support at a time when you really need it.
Julie McCrossin, broadcaster, LGBTQI+ rights advocate, lesbian woman and cancer survivor
If you, or anyone you know has any questions about cancer, call Cancer Council on 13 11 20 or visit cancercouncil.com.au/get-support.
You can pick up a free copy of LGBTQI+ People and Cancer: A guide for people with cancer, their families and friends in select hospitals and cancer treatment centres throughout Australia, online at cancercouncil.com.au/lgbtqi or by calling Cancer Council on 13 11 20 for a free copy.
Addressing inequities in cervical cancer survival
Australia’s on track to become one of the first countries in the world to eliminate cervical cancer as a public health problem by the end of this decade.
But only about 50% of people eligible for cervical screening are participating.
Guided by Cancer Council NSW research, the Australian government changed our National Cervical Screening Program (NCSP) to make cervical self-collection an option available to all women and people with a cervix in Australia, with the aim of helping more people get screened.
After its first year, we can see that self-collection has already changed the way people access the NCSP. The early signs are very promising.
After a slow start, the proportion of cervical screening tests that were self-collected vs collected with a doctor has increased.
In June 2022, it was as low as 2% in NSW. But by August 2023, it was as high as 20%.
We have been working hard to raise awareness of the NCSP and self-collection as an option among underscreened communities.
In the 2022/23 financial year, we conducted 46 activations promoting the program, with 50% of these targeted towards culturally and linguistically diverse communities.
Looking further ahead, with more people participating in screening, we hope to see even fewer people die of cervical cancer.
Thank you for your ongoing support in 2022/23. Together, it’s all of us against cancer.
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