Media Release | United by Unique: Nurses pivotal in delivering Cancer Survivorship Care
World Cancer Day’s 2025–2027 theme, “United by Unique,” places people at the centre of care and their stories at the heart of the conversation. Every experience of cancer is different, and it will take all of us, working together, to ensure care looks beyond the disease to the person before the patient.
This joint statement recognises that high-quality cancer survivorship care is delivered within a multidisciplinary system, and that nurses are central to ensuring that care coordinated, equitable, accessible and person-centred across the cancer continuum.
Australia is now home to more than 1.66 million people living with and beyond a cancer diagnosis, a number that continues to grow due to earlier diagnosis, improved treatments and an ageing population. Yet many cancer survivors continue to experience physical, psychosocial, emotional and practical challenges that remain under-recognised and inadequately addressed.
Cancer nurses play a pivotal role in survivorship care, providing continuity, trusted relationships and holistic support that spans treatment, recovery and long-term follow-up. Working alongside medical, allied health and community care partners, nurses support symptom management, psychosocial wellbeing, health promotion, self-management and navigation of complex and fragmented health systems.
The CNSA–COSA Position Statement highlights strong evidence that nurse-led survivorship models are safe, effective and highly valued by people affected by cancer, with outcomes comparable to specialist-led follow-up across multiple cancer types. These models are also associated with improved patient satisfaction, stronger emotional wellbeing, enhanced self-management and, in many settings, better value for the system.
CNSA Co-Vice President, and previous COSA Survivorship Fellow, Professor Gemma McErlean, said recognising nursing capability is critical to delivering survivorship care that truly responds to individual needs.
If we are serious about improving cancer survivorship care, we must better understand and recognise the capabilities nurses bring to this space. Every person’s experience of survivorship is unique, and it is nursing capability that enables care to be tailored to those needs across the system. Without this recognition, we risk designing services and policy that fall short for people living with and beyond cancer.
To strengthen survivorship care nationally, the Position Statement outlines 40 recommendations across service delivery, research, education and policy, with a clear focus on enabling nurses to work to their full scope of practice within multidisciplinary teams. The recommendations align with the Australian Cancer Plan and build on nationally recognised work defining the capabilities required by nurses delivering survivorship care across different levels of practice.
Chair of COSA’s Survivorship Group and Professor of Cancer Survivorship, Professor Nicolas Hart, emphasised the importance of recognising nursing roles within multidisciplinary care models.
High-quality cancer survivorship care requires a truly multidisciplinary approach that puts the person affected by cancer at the centre. For that system to work effectively, the role of nurses must be clearly understood and their capabilities fully leveraged, so they can work to their full scope of practice alongside medical and allied health colleagues.
Developed collaboratively by CNSA and COSA, and informed by extensive consultation with members from both organisations, the statement calls for strategic investment, workforce planning and policy reform to embed survivorship care as a core component of cancer services across Australia.
On World Cancer Day, CNSA and COSA reaffirm their shared commitment to advocating for a cancer workforce that is united, skilled and enabled, and for survivorship care that recognises the unique needs, goals and experiences of every person affected by cancer.
This World Cancer Day, we come together to shape the future of cancer care, one where people and communities come first, and where nurses are recognised as leaders in delivering survivorship care that truly meets the needs of those living with and beyond cancer.
Access the CNSA–COSA Position Statement on The Contribution of Nurses to Cancer Survivorship Care in Australia.
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Position Statement authors and spokesperson available for comment:
- Professor Raymond Chan, Deputy Vice Chancellor Research, Flinders University, SA
- Professor Gemma McErlean, Professor of Cancer Nursing, University of Technology Sydney, NSW; Prince of Wales Hospital, South Eastern Sydney Local Heath District, Sydney, NSW
- Dr Fiona Crawford-Williams, Research Manager, McGrath Foundation
- Dr Carla Thamm, Senior Research Fellow, Flinders University, SA
- Carmel O’Kane, Cancer Nurse Practitioner, Grampian Health, VIC
- Professor Nicolas H Hart, Professor of Cancer Survivorship, University of Technology Sydney, NSW
- Gillian Blanchard, Oncology Nurse Practitioner, Calvary Mater Newcastle, NSW
- Anne Mellon, Gynaecological Oncology CNC, John Hunter Hospital, NSW
- Justin Hargreaves, Medical Oncology Nurse Practitioner, Bendigo Cancer Centre, VIC
- Professor Meinir Krishnasamy, Chair Cancer Nursing, University of Melbourne, VIC
- Professor Michael Jefford, Consultant Medical Oncologist, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, VIC
For enquiries or interviews contact:
The Cancer Nurses Society of Australia (CNSA) is the peak professional body for over 8,200 dedicated cancer nurses across Australia, representing over 2000 members. CNSA supports and advocates for cancer nurses working across all levels of patient care, covering the full spectrum of cancer nursing.
Jemma Still, CNSA CEO
E: [email protected]
M: 0424 540 566
About COSA
The Clinical Oncology Society of Australia (COSA) is the national oncology community bringing together multidisciplinary health professionals across all cancers to advance care and improve outcomes. COSA’s vision is to improve cancer care and control through collaboration.
Marie Malica, COSA CEO
E: [email protected]
M: 0418 219 794
