FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONSThese example questions and answers may be used on a “Frequently asked questions” page on a website or intranet or in other communications channels to key stakeholders.

GENERAL AUDIENCEThe following examples are designed for audiences that have no awareness or little understanding of Optimal Cancer Care Pathways. The answers use messages predominantly tailored for patients and people affected by cancer.

Question: What are Optimal Cancer Care Pathways?

Answer: Optimal Cancer Care Pathways are national guides to the best cancer care for specific tumour types.

The pathways describe the key stages in a patient’s cancer journey and expected optimal care at each stage to ensure all people diagnosed with cancer get the best care, regardless of where they live or have cancer treatment.

Question: Who are Optimal Cancer Care Pathways for?

Answer: For each cancer pathway there are three versions:

A detailed clinical pathway for cancer specialists, health professionals and health service administrators

Quick reference guide for GPs – to familiarise GPs and primary care providers with the care pathway

Patient ‘what to expect’ guides – to assist patients and people affected by cancer to understand the care pathway and what to expect at each stage.

Detailed pathways, quick reference guides and patient guides have been developed for 15 tumour types:

acute myeloid leukaemia

breast cancer

colorectal cancer

endometrial cancer

head and neck cancers

hepatocellular carcinoma

high-grade glioma cancer

hodgkins lymphoma and diffuse large B-cell lymphoma

lung cancer

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melanoma

non-melanoma skin cancers

oesophagogastric cancer

ovarian cancer

pancreatic cancer

prostate cancer.

Question: What are Optimal Cancer Care Pathways for?

Answer: The pathways have been developed to ensure all people diagnosed with cancer get the best care, regardless of where they live or have cancer treatment.

Cancer services and hospitals will use the pathways to better plan and coordinate cancer services, to ensure patients have access to “best practice” care, including coordinated and multidisciplinary treatment and supportive care.

Cancer clinicians and health professionals will use pathways to provide optimal treatment and to make sure patients and their carers get the supportive care they need at each stage of their cancer journey.

For patients and people affected by cancer, the pathways explain the usual stages of optimal cancer treatment and care and what to expect at each stage. They can be used to guide questions to ask health professionals and to help patients ensure they receive the best possible treatment and support.

Question: Where can I get an Optimal Cancer Care Pathway or more information?

Answer: If you have been diagnosed with cancer or are family or friend of someone who has been: You can use the interactive guides on the pathways website or print an information sheet for your cancer type at www.cancerpathways.org.au.

Answer: If you are a GP or practice manager: You can access all the quick reference guides at www.cancer.org.au/OCP. You can also import the quick reference guides and patient version PDFs into your GP software.

Answer: If you want the detailed Optimal Cancer Care Pathways documents: All 15 pathways can be downloaded from www.cancer.org.au/OCP.

HEALTH SERVICE ADMINISTRATORS AND CLINICIANS

The following examples are designed for health service administrators and clinicians and others responsible for the provision of cancer care.

Question: Why are the pathways entitled “optimal” when we do not have resources for Optimal care?

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Answer: The pathways reflect current best practice for achieving the best possible patient outcomes.

In resource-constrained environments, alignment with the Optimal Cancer Care Pathways may require alternate sourcing of optimal care or transferring patients to services in which the resources are available.

Question: Why is a Multidisciplinary team approach necessary?

Answer:   Evidence demonstrates that a multidisciplinary team approach to care produces the best patient outcomes. Cancer patients have complex needs and require access to a range of specialist services for best outcomes.

A range of solutions, such as meeting via teleconferencing, may be required to provide multidisciplinary care in situations in which frequent face-to-face meetings are not possible.

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