Welcome and Introductions- CNSA Survivorship Community of Practice
Hi everyone, and welcome to our CNSA Survivorship Community of Practice Discussion Board!
This space is designed to bring us together to share knowledge, experiences, ideas, and resources that enhance care for people living with and beyond cancer. You’re warmly encouraged to share useful resources, tools, articles, or guidelines directly into this forum for others to access and discuss.
Whether you’re new to survivorship or have been working in this area for years, your insights and questions are incredibly valuable here.
Following our inaugural meeting, we would love for everyone to introduce themselves by sharing:
• Your role and area of practice
• What is your current survivorship model of care
• One challenge or opportunity you’re currently seeing in survivorship care
For any questions about the CNSA Survivorship Community of Practice, please feel free to contact us:
• Kim Kerin-Ayres E: kim.kerinayres@health.nsw.gov.au
• Leilani Way E: leilani.bongay@mater.org.au
Best,
Kim and Leilani
Created: 27 May 2026 08:05:40 AM
Last edited: 27 May 2026 08:05:41 AM
Hello everyone, my name is Faye, and I am one of the Helpline Nurse Navigator and Education Project Clinical Lead at Head and Neck Cancer Australia (HANCA). My area of practice focuses on supporting people affected by head and neck cancer across the continuum of care through patient navigation, education, psychosocial support, and survivorship.
What is your current survivorship model of care:
Our current survivorship model of care is integrated largely on our navigation service. Through the helpline, we provide education, emotional support, guidance on symptom management, connection to appropriate services, and assistance navigating often complex healthcare systems. We also collaborate with clinicians, healthcare organisations, and community supports to improve awareness and continuity of care. Many patients report feeling “lost” once treatment ends, particularly when dealing with long-term physical, emotional, nutritional, speech, swallowing, dental, and psychosocial impacts of head and neck cancer.
One challenge or opportunity you’re currently seeing in survivorship care:
One key challenge we are currently seeing is the gap in coordinated survivorship care for head and neck cancer patients. Many survivors experience ongoing and complex needs, yet there is often limited structured follow-up, inconsistent access to allied health and psychosocial supports, and a lack of survivorship-specific education and care planning. However, this also presents a significant opportunity particularly to strengthen multidisciplinary survivorship pathways, improve patient education and self-management support, and develop more accessible models of care through navigation, telehealth, peer support, and collaboration between tertiary services and community-based care.