Webinar: Sleep
Getting a good night’s sleep is important for maintaining your energy levels, reducing fatigue, and improving mood. If you’ve been diagnosed with cancer, your mind is probably occupied with many different thoughts and emotions, and sleep may be low on your list of concerns. But getting a good night’s sleep can improve your quality of life. This webinar discusses some practical strategies to help improve your sleep.
Panellists
Dr Laura Kirsten
Dr Kirsten is a senior clinical psychologist at Nepean Cancer Care Centre with both clinical and research expertise in psycho-oncology. Since completing her PhD she now provides psychosocial care to adults with cancer and their families. In this centre she provides services to medical oncology, radiation oncology, haematology and palliative care. She is the chair of the Psycho-oncology Group of the Clinical Oncology Society of Australia and also chairs the NSW Psychologists in Oncology group. Laura has a broad range of research interests including sexuality and cancer, cancer support groups, sleep interventions for cancer patients and stress and burnout in health professionals working in oncology.
Dr Catherine Mason
Dr Catherine Mason is a senior staff specialist psychiatrist working with patients from oncology, haematology oncology and palliative care in western Sydney since 1998. She is a Clinical Senior Lecturer in Psychological Medicine with the University of Sydney Medical School at Westmead and has long standing interests in medical education and clinical ethics. She leads an interdisciplinary team at Nepean Cancer Care Centre and the Crown Princess Mary Cancer Centre, Westmead, caring for inpatients and outpatients in oncology, haematology and palliative care. Her interests include care at the end of life, medical ethics, mood disorders in cancer patients and adaptation in chronic illness.
Annmaree Mitchell
Annmaree was diagnosed with Triple Negative Breast cancer in May 2015. After a unilateral skin sparing mastectomy a week later she underwent 6 rounds of chemo followed by 25 rounds of radio. During that time she simply tried as best she could to get on with it – resting a lot with gentle walking and not sleeping well – simply taking it one day at a time. It wasn’t until she connected with a group of women online called Reclaim Your Curves (that focuses on breast reconstruction support and information) that she found it easier to cope with the shock of diagnosis, treatment, tests and more surgery. She has had bilateral DIEP surgery (breast reconstruction using tummy fat), an oophorectomy and nipple reconstruction and has found it much easier to relax, sleep and enjoy life again, with daily exercise and nutrition being a major focus. Annmaree is a volunteer with the Cancer Council’s Cancer Connect program, providing peer to peer telephone support, she is an ambassador for Reclaim Your Curves in Sydney and also assists with their information seminars on Breast Reconstruction for women in regional areas of NSW.