Welcome to the Rare and Less Common Cancers in Primary Care: Recognition, Referral and Support course.

This course supports primary care professionals to better recognise and manage rare and less common cancers. It builds a foundational understanding of how these cancers differ from more common cancers, highlights the lived experience of people affected, and explores the critical role of primary care in early recognition, safety-netting and coordinated care.

The course also focuses on navigating diagnostic uncertainty, referral pathways and multidisciplinary care, strengthening primary care capability to provide coordinated, person-centred support for people with rare and less common cancers and their carers across the cancer continuum.

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Aim  

This course aims to build the knowledge and practical capability of primary healthcare practitioners to recognise, refer, and support people affected by rare and less common cancers through timely diagnosis, coordinated care, and ongoing supportive care. 

Learning Objectives

• Recognise how rare and less common cancers differ from more common cancers in terms of incidence, presentation, diagnostic pathways, and system challenges within Australian primary care.
• Identify the unique diagnostic risks associated with rare and less common cancers, including non-specific symptoms, absence of screening programs, uncertainty in clinical reasoning, and health system barriers that contribute to delayed diagnosis.
• Apply best-practice primary care strategies for early recognition, safety-netting, referral, and coordination of care for people affected by rare and less common cancers.
• Support people with rare and less common cancers, and their carers, by responding to psychosocial, financial, and practical impacts across diagnosis, treatment, survivorship, and end-of-life care.
• Navigate and utilise appropriate referral pathways, specialist services, navigators, and community supports to deliver timely, coordinated, and person-centred care.
• Collaborate effectively with multidisciplinary teams, including specialists, allied health professionals, and community services, to provide holistic and continuous care across the cancer continuum. 

Learning Outcomes

Recognise the unique diagnostic and management challenges rare and less common cancers present in primary care settings.  

Apply best practices in early referral and ongoing patient support to enhance optimal care outcomes. 

Modules

Module 1: Understanding Rare and Less Common Cancers in Primary Care

Module 2: Navigating Rare and Less Common Cancers in Primary Care

Acknowledgements

Rare Cancers Australia, in collaboration with the VCCC Alliance and members of our community, including patients, clinicians and health professionals, developed this course. We would like to acknowledge and thank the following people for their contributions to these modules:

• Dr Emily Ischam, General Practitioner and lived expert
• Cath Armstrong, lived expert
• Dominic Lynch, lived expert
• Acting Professor Justin Tse, General Practitioner
• Jessica Smith, Medical Oncologist Southwestern Sydney LHD
• Colin Hornby, Radiotherapy Adviser VIC Department of Health
• Ian Kamerman, General Practitioner and lived expert
• Richard Vines, Director and Founder Rare Cancers Australia
• Christine Cockburn, CEO Rare Cancers Australia
• Cathy Slattery, Head of Patient Programs Rare Cancers Australia
• Sarah Benger, Head of Policy and Public Affairs Rare Cancers Australia
• Jaime Macedo, Cancer Navigation Program Lead Rare Cancers Australia
• Erin Turner, VCCC Alliance
• Kyleigh Smith, VCCC Alliance
• Arlie Novy, Education and Outreach Manager Rare Cancers Australia