“I personally find it very rewarding working with the survivorship cohort as they have a very unique outlook on life and their determination is admirable.”
- Grampians Wellness and Life after Cancer facilitator
Wellness and Life after Cancer is an education program designed to enable those moving from treatment to recovery to build resilience and increase their capacity to self-manage their own health and wellbeing. The Telehealth for Supportive Survivorship Care project, currently being piloted in regional Victoria, introduces a group exercise component with education delivery via Telehealth.
To start the program, Cancer Council held training for Wellness and Life after Cancer facilitators including Exercise Physiologists and cancer nurses. Additional training was provided in Exercise and Cancer for the Exercise Physiologists who conduct pre- and post-program assessments, create an hour group exercise program and home programs to encourage daily activity.
This program is currently running in the Grampians region connecting Stawell Regional Health, Wimmera Health Care Group (Horsham) and Rural Northwest Health (Warracknabeal); and Hume regions with Goulburn Valley Health (Shepparton) and Northeast Health (Wangaratta). Videoconferencing is available at each site to link participants at a location closer to their home.
Preliminary self-reported measurements of pre- and post-program participants (n= 54 and n=43, respectively) have shown an increase in daily physical activity and incorporating an extra day/week of physical activity in their usual routine.
For more information about the project, contact Jane Auchettl, Education and Training on cep@cancervic.org.au
This project is funded by the Victorian Cancer Survivorship Program scheme, Department of Health and Human Services (VCSP11) in collaboration with the Grampians and Hume Region Integrated Cancer Services.
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