Interactive program on breast cancer on October 27
October 23, 2009Women around Australia will have the opportunity on to get involved in a unique, interactive program which addresses many of the issues that arise when women complete treatment for breast cancer, through a special live internet webcast produced by the Rural Health Education Foundation and the Westmead Breast Cancer Institute in Sydney.
The ninety minute program entitled ‘Breast Cancer: Challenges after Treatment’ will be presented live on Tuesday October 27th as a simultaneous interactive satellite broadcast and internet webcast, as part of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
The program has been developed to provide women with answers to frequently asked questions and will offer strategies to assist them in gaining accurate information and access to appropriate support. It will also explore ways in which health care professionals can assist women to find their ‘new normal’.
Rural Health Education Foundation CEO Don Perlgut says the joint collaboration between the Foundation and the Institute on the interactive program provides a rare opportunity for both women and their healthcare advisers to gain from the program.
He says: “With more than 13,000 women in Australia affected by breast cancer each year, programs such as this aim to assist in supporting as many of those women as possible - as well as benefiting the healthcare professionals who treat them.”
Director of the Westmead Breast Cancer Institute, A/Professor John Boyages, says after breast cancer treatment many women experience unexpected physical and emotional changes, coupled with confusion over follow-up care and concern about their future.
He says. “Breast Cancer: Challenges after Treatment addresses those issues by presenting the latest strategies from expert practitioners.”
The program format is a panel discussion chaired by A/Professor John Boyages, Director of the Westmead Breast Cancer Institute.
The panel of medical practitioners features:
- Dr James French, Head of Breast Surgery at the NSW Breast Cancer Institute, located at Westmead Hospital in Sydney;
- Dr Tony Hobbs, General Practitioner from Cootamundra in NSW;
- Associate Professor Judy Kirk, Director of the Familial Cancer Service;
- Ms Louise Koelmeyer, Occupational Therapist and Lymphoedema Specialist at Westmead Hospital;
- Dr Nicholas Wilcken, Director of Medical Oncology at Westmead Hospital and Senior Lecturer at the University of Sydney.
Breast Cancer: Challenges after Treatment has been funded by the Westmead Breast Cancer Institute with support from the Sydney West Area Health Service and the community.
Broadcast and webcast details
Breast Cancer: Challenges After Treatment will be broadcast across the Rural Health Education Foundation’s satellite television network on Tuesday 27th October 2009 at 8.00pm (Sydney time), with repeats at 8.00pm Perth time that same evening (three hours later) and 12.30pm on Friday 30th October.
The program will also be available free on the Internet after the live broadcast for viewing via web-streamed video or listening via an audio podcast.
More information
For more information about this program - including presenter details, access instructions and associated educational resources - refer to the online program summary or contact the Foundation.