Alliance Newsletter

Patients undergoing cancer treatment should feel confident about being vaccinated

Under Phase 1B of the Australian COVID-19 vaccine roll-out, patients with cancer are now eligible for priority vaccination. In reality, a number of practical and psychological barriers remain, which may impact take-up of this critical vaccination program.

First joint Australian and New Zealand Consumer Experience and Leadership in Health Summit

According to Vincent Dumez, Centre of Excellence on Partnership with Patients and the Public, the University of Montreal, we are in the middle of a patient-led innovation revolution. Does that make the 800 people who attended the first joint Australian and New Zealand Consumer Experience and Leadership in Health Summit last month revolutionaries?

Intimacy and sexual health

Cancer can be devastating in all its forms. There may be much to mourn. Head and neck cancers can be among the most distressing, not only for their obvious ability to alter a person’s appearance but for their capacity to affect a person’s sense of self.

Celebration of 2020 Picchi Award winners

It has been a long year for the 2020 Picchi Award winners who finally received their trophies last week. Matthew Grant is in the Netherlands experiencing the global pandemic from a European perspective. French-national Deborah Meyran completed her PhD with a young family, has forged new frontiers with her research, and France is suddenly much further away. Stefan Bjelosevic has been bunkered down at Peter Mac at the Johnstone Lab as a key member of the team. 

Regional clinical trials workforce 

Nine study coordinators and 12 clinical trial assistants have been officially mobilised across both regional and metropolitan sites after completing an intensive two-week orientation at the Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre.

Share your cancer prevention and control expertise with the next generation of cancer specialists

We require a casual Teaching Assistant in the Cancer Prevention & Control subject to support a tutorial group of up to 25 online graduate students. It is a casual role for 13 weeks during Term 2 2021 teaching period, at an approximate time commitment of around 5-7 hours per week. Commencing immediately.

Assist the next generation of cancer specialists to achieve their research goals

We require a casual Research Project Supervisor in the Research Thesis Capstone subject to take responsibility for the supervision of multiple students (4-5 per 6-month project) within the Master of Cancer Sciences course. 

Help us to fast-track innovations in regional Victoria, particularly those with the poorest cancer outcomes

We are excited to be offering a project management role for an exceptional person possessing clinical trials/research experience, preferably in the emerging area of teletrials.

Every crisis presents opportunities

The uptake of telehealth by both patients and health professionals during COVID-19 presents a unique opportunity to reform the future care of people with cancer and many other health conditions.

Published recently in the Internal Medical Journal (IMJ), ‘Telehealth in cancer care: during and beyond the COVID‐19 pandemic‘ provides expert guidance for the routine application of telehealth as a model of optimal and integrated cancer care.  More importantly, the paper’s authors identify and discuss benefits, and address some proposed challenges and solutions associated with telehealth.

Cancer Council Victoria's Grants-in-Aid program

A research project to develop new approaches to understanding the cause of colorectal cancer in families has received funding from Cancer Council Victoria.

Although it is preventable, colorectal cancer is still a major public health problem in Australia and the leading cause of cancer-related death. Screening has proven to reduce the incidence and mortality from colorectal cancer in the high-risk group of people with a family history of the disease.