Explores the health needs and experiences of cancer survivors, and presents useful frameworks, guidelines, tools and strategies to provide care.
What you will achieve
- Describe the experience of survivors living with and beyond cancer
- Identify key principles underpinning survivorship care and models of care that can be implemented to enhance the survivorship experience
- Recognise the importance of a multidisciplinary approach to delivering optimal survivorship care
- Describe the importance of survivorship care plans as a key element of survivorship care and identify tools to generate survivorship care plans
- Define self-management in the context of cancer survivorship and identify tools and services to support survivors to self-manage
- Recognise the importance of addressing physical, psychosocial and practical wellbeing for cancer survivors and identify tools promote behaviour change
Who is this course for?
This introductory course is for all health professionals with an interest in cancer survivorship.
Modules
Module 1: Survivorship fundamentals 1hr
Module 2: Models of survivorship care 1hr
Module 3: A multidisciplinary approach 1hr
Module 4: Survivorship care plans 0.75hr
Module 5: Self-management 0.75hr
Module 6: Wellbeing 0.75hr
Acknowledgements and funding
The original course was developed in 2013 and was funded by the Australian Cancer Survivorship Centre, based Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, in collaboration with Cancer Australia, Queensland University of Technology and the University of Sydney.
The Australian Cancer Survivorship Centre is funded by the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre and the Victorian Department of Health and Human Services.
This course has been recently updated in 2025. The Australian Cancer Survivorship Centre in collaboration with a number of cancer survivorship experts developed this course and we would specifically like to acknowledge and thank the following people/groups for their contribution to the 2025 review and update:
• Prof Raymond Chan – Chair in Cancer Nursing, NHMRC Investigator Fellow, Princess Alexandra Hospital and Queensland University of Technology, Deputy Chair of COSA Survivorship Group
• Ms Jenelle Loeliger – Head of Nutrition and Speech Pathology Department, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre
• Ms Meg Rynderman – Consumer Representative, Australian Cancer Survivorship Centre
• Prof Richard Cohn – Clinical Program Director – Medical, Head, Clinical Oncology, Sydney Children’s Hospital
• ONTrac at Peter Mac Victorian Adolescent & Young Adult Cancer Service, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre
• Ms Jay Hamann – Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Hospital Liaison Officer, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre
• Prof Bogda Koczwara, Senior Staff Specialist, Department of Medical Oncology, Flinders Medical Centre, National Breast Cancer Foundation Practitioner Fellow
• A/Prof Lidia Schapira, Director Cancer Survivorship Program, Stanford University School of Medicine
• Ms Stephanie Smith, Instructor, Paediatric Hematology/Oncology, Stanford University School of Medicine
Modules
Module 1: Survivorship fundamentals
This module explores the health needs and experiences of cancer survivors. It includes the following topics: defining cancer survivorship and survivorship care, survivorship statistics, the experience of living with and beyond cancer and key population groups and considerations for survivorship (children, adolescents and young adults, older adults and Indigenous Australians). Complete the topics that are relevant to you.
Learning objectives:
Define the terms survivor and survivorship care
Outline the context of cancer survivorship in Australia
Describe the experience of survivors living with and beyond cancer
Identify survivorship considerations for key population groups
Module 2: Models of survivorship care
This module discusses key international and national survivorship care frameworks and explores various models of survivorship care. It includes the following topics: survivorship care frameworks, models of survivorship care and quality survivorship care. Complete the topics that are relevant to you.
Learning objectives
Outline the key principles underpinning survivorship care
Discuss frameworks that guide survivorship care in Australia and internationally
Describe other models of survivorship care, including shared care
Discuss ways to measure quality survivorship care
Module 3: A multidisciplinary approach
This module recognises the importance of a multidisciplinary approach in cancer survivorship care. It highlights the role of allied health, primary care and community-based services in supporting survivors. It includes the following topics: a multidisciplinary approach, supportive care and assessing the needs of survivors, primary care and community-based services. Complete the topics that are relevant to you.
Learning objectives
Describe the benefits of a multidisciplinary approach to survivorship care
Discuss supportive care and assessing the needs of survivors
Describe the important role of primary care in survivorship care
Outline the role community-based services and non-government organisations can play in survivorship care
Module 4: Survivorship care plans
This module discusses the importance of survivorship care plans as a key element of survivorship care. It includes tools and resources to develop survivorship care plans.
Learning objectives
Discuss the purpose of using survivorship care plans as a part of follow-up survivorship care
Describe the type of information that should be included in a survivorship care plan and who should prepare care plans
Identify online tools available to support the development of survivorship care plans
Outline the benefits and challenges that exist with using and implementing survivorship care plans as part of routine follow-up care
Module 5: Self-management
This module highlights the benefits of self-management for cancer survivors. It includes resources and services to support survivors to self-manage and take an active role in their recovery.
Learning objectives
Explain the importance of a self-management approach for cancer survivors
Define self-management and supported self-management in the context of cancer survivorship and person-centred care
Outline factors to consider when determining readiness to self-manage
Identify resources and services to support self-management
Module 6: Wellbeing
This module explores the importance of focusing on the physical, psychosocial and practical wellbeing of cancer survivors. It discusses techniques such as motivational interviewing to encourage cancer survivors to improve their health behaviours. It includes the following topics: wellbeing and promoting behaviour change. Complete the topics that are relevant to you.
Learning objectives
Discuss the importance of wellbeing and a healthy lifestyle for cancer survivors
Describe physical, practical and emotional wellbeing considerations for survivors
Outline strategies to effectively communicate with patients and promote behaviour change
Resource details
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