Cancer Education Program 2011

ATSI Professionals

• Aboriginal Health Workers

• Aboriginal Interpreters

• Aboriginal Liaison Officers

• Aboriginal Health Promotion Officers

• Healthy Lifestyle Officers

• Family Support Workers

• Oral Health

• Strong Women Workers

• Tobacco Workers

• Chronic Disease Coordinators

• Recall Support Officers

Who are the ATSI Professionals?

Cancer Education Learning Goals

• What is cancer?

• How to prevent cancer.

• Learn how to detect cancer early.

• Learn more about cancer screening.

• Workshop with other ATSI Professionals.

• Explore barriers to treatment.

• Learn about cancer treatments;

Surgery

Chemotherapy

Radiotherapy

• Learn about Supportive care, Palliative Care

and PEPA.

• Share survivor stories.

Day one at Barbara James House accommodation for cancer patients

and their families.

Jill Naylor from the Cancer Council NT talks about how

cells can change into cancer.

What are cells?

The beach is made of millions of tiny grains of sand……

like our bodies are made of millions of cells.

Sometimes these

tiny cells get sick

and start to grow

very quickly. They

start taking over

good cells and

like a weed, they

can start

spreading all over

the body.

Phone 13 11 20

Phone 13 11 20

Phone 13 11 20

After the Cancer Council NT presentation, we break into small talking

groups to discuss the barriers to cancer treatment.

Margaret O’Brien from Danila Dilba summarises her small group

discussion with everyone.

Boyan Yunupingu talks about barriers to cancer treatment for remote

Indigenous patients.

Cath Hampton a Chronic Disease Coordinator from Miwatj talks about

barriers for remote cancer patients.

Cath Hampton from Miwatj Barriers to cancer treatment

• Remoteness

• No Escort

• Not enough Specialists

• Cultural training for non-Indigenous

• Different priorities between cultures

• Cultural safety

• Confusing health messages

• Don’t know about support services

• Scary environment

• Language barriers

• Don’t want to tell family

• Shame or scared

• Confidentiality in small community

• Feel normal “I’m not sick!”

• Loss of control

• Not enough time to break down concepts

Bernie Shields sums up the day

• Alan Walker Cancer Care Centrein Darwin means patients get

treatment closer to home.

• Barbara James House culturally safe accommodation for cancer

patients and their carers.

• Not everyone dies of cancer,

finding cancer early is important

to survival. Men’s and Women Checks are important.

• Now we know about the Cancer Council NT and the Nurses that

can support cancer patients in

Darwin.

Good news stories

Cancer Council NT

Cancer Nurses Jill or Marg on (08) 8927 4888 during the

week or 13 11 20 after hours.

Boyan Yunupingu reflects on what

was learnt yesterday.

Doctor Phil Carson talks about

surgery to cut out cancer.

Doctor Carson shows a Mammogram image of a woman’s breast, showing a cancer tumour.

Women aged 50 and over should have a mammogram every two years.

For an appointment or to find your nearest service call the friendly staff at Breastscreen NT.

BreastScreen NT

13 20 50.

Doctor Carson shows a male with a breast cancer

tumour.

This tumour started off

small inside the body and could have been removed by surgery.

This cancer tumour became so big that it came

out of the body through the skin.

Finding cancer early is important to survival.

Why didn’t this man come to the clinic earlier?

Dr Phil’s Tree

Sometimes you can see a cancer tumour

but like a tree, the tumour may send

down roots.

When we do surgery

and cut out the cancer we need to make sure

we cut out all the

roots or the cancer will grow again.

Cancer is like a tree

Sometimes the cancer

tumour is like a tree and

sends off seeds that can travel and spread

throughout the body.

Surgery cuts out the cancer but chemotherapy

and radiation make sure

all the cancer roots and seeds are destroyed.

Cancer starts small like a seed and can grow anywhere in the body. Some cancer grows fast like a Carpentaria Palm, Soap tree or Grevillia. These are called

‘aggressive’ cancers. Others grow slow like a Cycad.

The Alan Walker Cancer

Care Centre in Darwin gives Chemotherapy and Radiotherapy treatments to

cancer patients from across the Northern Territory.

The good news is that most patients can be treated in the

Northern Territory, treatments don’t take all day and the staff at the cancer centre are very

friendly and caring.

Alan Walker Cancer Care Centre

(08) 8944 8220

Resources in language

Elizabeth Presley an Aboriginal Liaison

Officer from the Alice Springs Hospital

introduces ‘Waiting, Going to Hospital,

Coming Home Strong’ DVD and flipbook

which helps ATSI Professionals get patients

ready to go into town for surgery.

The ‘Looking from a new perspective to

create a bright future’ DVD, asks non-

Indigenous staff to consider the challenges

for remote people with English as a second

language. In this DVD all the Doctors and

Nurses are Indigenous and speak in

language to the non-Indigenous patient who

becomes quite distressed until the

Interpreter arrives.

To order a DVD contact the

Elective Surgery Project Officer

on (08) 8999 2950.

Available in language

Anindilyakwa

Burrada

Murrinh-Patha

Djambarrpuyngu

Arrente

Walpiri

Pitjantjatjara

Gurindji

Waramungu

Kriol

English

Resources in language

A Cancer Journey DVD is available in five regional

languages including;

Watch this DVD in language to help

you understand the cancer journey for a patient and their family.

Show the Cancer Journey DVD to cancer patients and their family.

• Yolngu-Matha• Murrinh-Patha

• Walpiri• Pitjantjatjatjara• Kriol

What is our good news story?

• Men’s and Women’s Health Checks

are important.

• Know your body and if something

changes go to the clinic.

• Most cancer patients can be treated in

Darwin.

• The Cancer Council can go to

specialist appointments with cancer

patients in Darwin.

Cancer Council NTCancer Nurses Jill or Marg on

(08) 8927 4888 during the week

or 13 11 20 after hours.

Call the Cancer Council in Darwin on (08) 8927 4888and ask a Nurse to come to your Specialist appointment. They will

help you to get the right story.

Territory Palliative Care

The Palliative Care team

can help patients, their carers and families to finish up in the right way.

Territory Palliative Care

Top End

8922 6761

8922 8888 After hours

Central

8951 6762

8951 7777After hours

Call Aboriginal Education Officer Cindy Paardekooper on 8922 7679 for more information.

Glen Gurruwiwi works for Miwatj as a Tobacco Worker, an

important job as smoking is a leading

cause of cancer.

After lunch the women settle down for a Survivorship Sessionsharing their cancer stories and asking questions of the Cancer Council Nurses.

Marrapalawuy Marika from Yirrkala

tells her cancer survival story and

how her family were very strong for

her. She was happy to see Doctor

Carson that morning, as he

performed surgery on her many

years ago.

There is no shame in

talking about cancer.

Sharing these stories makes us all stronger.

The Cancer Journey can be a

long and difficult one but remembering your family will keep you strong.

The Cancer Council are there to help patients and their

families get the full story and make good decisions.

The Cancer Council nurses can come to specialist

appointments with you in Darwin.

Cancer Council NT

(08) 8927 4888

Karen Duxfield from Katherine West

Health Board battled cancer ten years

ago and this experience inspired her

to become an Aboriginal Health

Worker.

Karen grew up speaking English as

a first language but still found the

cancer journey very stressful. She

had to travel to Adelaide, leaving her

family behind and worrying about

her children. Karen found

communicating with the Doctors and

Nurses very difficult as they didn’t

seem to listen or understand. At one

point she was mistakenly placed in a

Children’s Ward!

Karen survived cancer and found a

new strength and determination.

She became an Aboriginal Health

Worker so nobody in her community

would have to go through what she

did.

Sharing survivor stories makes us all

stronger!

Our good news story

Bernie sums up the day,

reminding everyone that there

are many services out there to

support patients, their carers

and families.

The Cancer Journey can be a

difficult one but Marrapalawuy

and Karen show that you can

survive and come back even

stronger.

The Alan Walker Cancer Care

Centre in Darwin works hard to

provide a culturally safe place

for Aboriginal patients to receive

lifesaving Radiotherapy and

Chemotherapy treatments closer

to home.

Alan Walker Cancer Care Centre

The AWCCC is on the grounds of the Royal Darwin Hospital. The

friendly staff are dedicated to providing the best cancer treatment in a safe and comfortable location.

Phone 8944 8220or visit www.ntro.com.au

The friendly team at the

Alan Walker Cancer Care Centre

Giam Kar, the Manager of the Alan Walker Cancer Care Centre, shows the ATSI Professionals around the Chemotherapy suite.

When having radiotherapy it is important to stay very still so the radiation

only goes to the cancer and not to other nearby body parts, like eyes or

tongue. Bonnie Godyn shows everyone how to make a mask.

Brave Theresa Haidle a Katherine ALO agrees to help make the face mask.

Bonnie wets the plastic

which makes it soft while

Giam helps get Theresa

comfortable.

Marrapalawuy keeps a

close eye on the action.

The wet warm mask is stretched over the

face and fixed to the table so the patient

stays still.

Let’s hope Theresa doesn’t get an itch!

Ellen Gapany from the Aboriginal Interpreter

Service feels the plastic as it cools. Oscar

Garawirrtja a Tobacco Worker looks on.

The soft cold gloves help

the plastic to cool quicker

and harden, so brave

Theresa can get out

quicker!

While Giam’s not looking cheeky

Bernie Shields pulls a face!

This is the Linac

machine that delivers a

targeted ball of radiation

to the cancer tumour.

The treatment doesn’t

hurt and lasts about 10 -

20 minutes.

Karen Greer and Darrin

Weetra both Family

Support Officer’s from

Danila Dilba have a

closer look at the Linac

machine which costs 2.2

million dollars!!

Aboriginal Cancer Journeys

are stories of kinship, hope

and survival available at the Cancer Council NSW

website.

www.cancercouncil.com.au

The Cancer Journey – Prevention to Diagnosis

Done at the local clinic, sometimes as a part of an Adult Health

Check. The Doctor will put a gloved finger into the bowel to feel the prostate. A blood test can also assist diagnosis.

Prostate Check

Men only - talk to

Clinic

Sitting next to someone who is smoking is still bad for your health.

Tobacco smoking is a leading cause of cancer. Passive smoking

The identification or naming of a person's disease.Diagnosis

Done at the local clinic, sometimes as a part of an Adult Health

Check. An easy test that can save your life. A scrape of poo is taken for tests. Can be done as part of an Adult Health Check.

Bowel Screening

Talk to Clinic

The name of the test that squeezes the breast into a machine and

takes a photo that shows Doctors if there are cancer tumours or lumps. An uncomfortable test that can save your life.

Mammogram

Looking at the breast for any changes. It’s important to know how your body feels, so you can see any changes, lumps or sores. Women over 50 should have a mammogram every two years.

Breast screening

50 year old woman every 2 years

Also called Pap test. A test that can looks for changes in the doorway to the baby bag or cervix. Some cells are scraped off the cervix and

sent to a laboratory for examination under a microscope. This uncomfortable test can save your life by finding cancer very early.

Pap Smear

Sexually active women every 2 years

Human papillomavirus is a virus that causes skin sores and can

become cancer. Three injections given to young girls helps protect them from these cancers. Does not stop pregnancy.

HPV Vaccination

Young girls 3

injections

Finding cancer in the body early when it is small makes it easier to

cure. Adult Health Checks help detect sickness early.Early Detection

Living a healthy lifestyle and having regular health checks, helps you ‘prevent’ getting sick. Lowering your risk.

Prevention

The Cancer Journey – Diagnosis to Palliative Care.

There is no cure, the patient is finishing up. Helping to make the death a good one for the patient, family and community.

Palliative Care

In cancer, survivorship focuses on the health and life of a

person with cancer after they return to their community. Survivorship includes how you care for yourself after treatment, side effects, what if the cancer comes back, and

your quality of life. Family members, friends, and caregivers are also part of the survivorship experience.

Survivorship

The use of radiation, like used in a microwave, to kill cancer cells or injure them so they cannot grow or multiply.

Treatment–Radiotherapy

Cancer tumours act like trees and can send out seeds that

spread and grow in other parts of the body. This is why its important to find cancer early.

Metastatic

When a cancer tumour is cut out of the body the Doctor will take a little more to be safe. If this surrounding tissue does not contain any cancer cells it is said to be a clear margin.

Clear Margin

Going to Hospital and being put to sleep so the cancer can be

cut out of the body. A difficult but lifesaving procedure.Treatment – Surgery

Malignant means cancerous and can cause death.

Benign means not cancer but a harmless lump or tumour.

Malignant and Benign

The building blocks of the body. Like grains of sand make a beach. A human is made of millions of cells, which are

changed for different jobs. Cells can reproduce themselves exactly, unless they are abnormal or damaged, as are cancer cells.

Cells

When normal cell growth changes and the cell becomes sick or damaged.

Abnormal cells

Putting strong medicine into the blood, which travels all over the body and slows or kills cell growth. Gets rid of any cancer cells in the body.

Treatment–Chemotherapy

Cancer Council NTCancer Nurses Jill or Marg on

(08) 8927 4888 during the week

or 13 11 20 after hours.

The Alan Walker Cancer Care Centre Phone 8944 8220

or visit www.ntro.com.au

Breastscreening NT - appointments 13 20 50

Bowel Screening NT - www.bowelcanceraustralia.org

Men’s Health Checks - 8985 8170

Woman’s Health Checks - 8955 6135

Good luck in your challenging and important work.

The Cancer Network is here to help you.