Plenary Sessions
Plenary 2: INTEGRATE | Navigation, Informal Care, and Follow Up Care
Cancer pathways are often complex, fragmented, and difficult to navigate, with nurses, carers, and families doing much of the unseen work to keep care connected. This plenary explores what integration truly looks like in practice and why navigation must be recognised as core cancer care, not an optional add-on.
The session will include an update on the National Cancer Navigation Service Project, highlighting national efforts to improve consistency, equity, and access to navigation across Australia. This provides important context for cancer nurses, acknowledging navigation as essential infrastructure and recognising the central role nurses already play in coordinating care across settings and services.
A panel discussion will then examine the role of informal care within cancer pathways, exploring how carers and families are relied upon but rarely designed for, and the impact this has on patients and the workforce. The plenary concludes with a thought provoking session focused on measuring what matters - and examining how we can raise the standard for follow-up after cancer.
This session invites cancer nurses to reflect, challenge assumptions, and engage in shaping cancer pathways that better reflect the realities of care delivery and patient experience.
Professor Paul Cohen is a gynaecologic oncologist and clinician-scientist at the Western Australian Gynaecological Cancer Service at King Edward Memorial Hospital and the Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research in Perth. His research focuses on biomarkers of chemotherapy resistance in ovarian cancer, gynaecological cancer epidemiology, cervical cancer prevention, and survivorship.
Paul is the Principal Investigator of two multicentre phase 2 clinical trials. He is the current chair of the Australia and New Zealand Gynaecological Oncology Group (ANZGOG) Research Advisory Committee, and a Board Director of ANZGOG. Paul is the co-chair of the Scientific Program Committee of the 2026 International Gynecological Cancer Society Annual Global Meeting, and a member of the eviQ Cancer Genetics Reference Committee and the Editorial Board of the International Journal of Gynecological Cancer.
Susan, the founder of Gather My Crew, is a registered psychologist and health consultant. She has a Masters in Psychology, a Masters in Public Health, and a PhD in Psychology. Susan has worked in public health and the not-for-profit sector for the past 20 years and has considerable experience working with those suffering illness, trauma and loss. A passion to build healthier and stronger communities has been combined with this clinical, research and consulting experience to create the foundation of this unique project. Susan is a Churchill Fellow and a Westpac Social Change Fellow.
