About The Program
Healthy Living after Cancer Online is a free online self-help program that offers information and support for people of all genders who have recently completed cancer treatment.
This program has been developed as part of a clinical trial for anyone who has completed cancer treatment.
This program offers 9 modules of information and interactive features (activities, activity trackers, and relaxation / meditation) to assist you in making healthy lifestyle changes. This program takes a holistic approach to healthy living and includes information about physical and emotional wellbeing, and navigating life after completing cancer treatment.
Please note: because this program is designed as self-help, it is not aimed at people experiencing crisis situations, and we do not have the ability to respond to concerns out of business hours. If you are experiencing a crisis, we recommend contacting Lifeline (13 11 14).
Website and Program Development
This program is based on Healthy Living after Cancer, a telephone health coaching program run by Cancer Council NSW, Cancer Council Vic, Cancer Council SA, and Cancer Council WA between 2015 and 2018.
The program has been developed into an online version with the support of the Flinders Innovation Partnership Seed Grant and Cancer Council SA.
Program Authors
Ms Morgan Leske is a provisionally registered psychologist and PhD Candidate at Flinders University. Her research interest focuses on making supportive care more accessible to those affected by cancer in rural and remote communities.
Prof Elizabeth Eakin is the Head of School, School of Public Health in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Queensland. She has worked closely with health departments and Cancer Councils nationally on the implementation of telephone health coaching programs developed through her program of research.
A/Prof Lisa Beatty is a Clinical Psychologist with over 15 years of research and clinical expertise in the field of psycho-oncology – the scientific exploration of the psychological impact and treatment of cancer. Her areas of research focus on promoting adjustment to cancer and developing accessible psychological interventions for people affected by cancer.
Dr Jason Blunt is a senior researcher at Cancer Council SA, where his research focus is in Cancer prevention, monitoring, survivorship, as well as the development and evaluation of Cancer Council SA’s programs and services.
Prof Bogda Koczwara is a senior staff specialist in medical oncology at the Flinders Medical Centre in Adelaide and she leads the Survivorship Research Program at the Flinders University Health and Medical Research Institute. Her main interests focus on management of breast cancer, supportive care, patient communication and decision-making.
Dr Camille Short is a Senior Research Fellow at the Melbourne Centre for Behaviour Change, University of Melbourne. She has expertise in the design of digital interventions to support cancer survivors engage in exercise and other healthy behaviours.
Mr Jon Degner is a personal trainer, stage 4 cancer survivor, and cancer community advocate. He believes strongly in exercise as a powerful way to improve quality of life and outcomes during and following disease or injury.
Dr Tony Daly is Research Manager at Cancer Council SA. He has extensive experience in mixed-methods research and evaluation focussing on health, education, and policy analysis.
Consumers / Health Professionals: The authors developed the content in collaboration with many cancer survivors through a series of discussion groups and interviews, and with other cancer health professionals, including oncologists, nurses, and psychologists.
Website developers
The IUGO team have been pleased to work with the Healthy Living after Cancer Online team to help support cancer patients online. IUGO is a cross-platform digital media company with services across mobile, touch, web, and motion. To find out more visit their website: https://www.iugo.com.au
About the Research
As mentioned above, Healthy Living after Cancer Online was developed as part of a research study, funded by the Flinders Innovation Partnership Seed Grant and Cancer Council SA.
What Participating involves
Participants who choose to enrol in this study will be randomly allocated by chance (similar to flipping a coin) to receive either the Healthy living after Cancer Online program plus telephone coaching, or to receive the Healthy living after Cancer Online program only.
Participants in both groups will be asked to work through an online program for 12 weeks that addresses multiple areas of health, including physical activity, healthy eating, mental health, finding the new normal after cancer treatment, fatigue, and weight management. Questionnaires will be collected before and after the intervention.
Participants who are allocated to the telephone coaching group will also receive 2x one-on-one 15-minute telephone sessions with a Provisional Psychologist during the first and fourth weeks of the program. The purpose of these sessions will be to help the participants to identify goals that are meaningful to them, to
help plan activities that will assist them to meet their goals and to check their progress in meeting these
goals over time.
How we evaluate the program
Our evaluation of the program (how people use and may benefit from the program) may be published in several ways. First, the results may be discussed / presented at various national and international conferences. Second, the results may be published in medical, health, and psychology journals. Stories may also appear in the media. It is important to know that the identity of all individuals who participate is kept confidential.
If you are interested in hearing the broader evaluation results of the study, you are welcome to contact us.
Privacy and Security
All personal details you supply are kept private and confidential. No identifying information will be released to anyone outside of the research team. For further information about our Privacy Policy, please see our ‘Terms of Use’ link, where the full privacy policy is available to view.
We have made every effort to ensure that all data that is obtained through this program is secured and protected. Specific details about how data is secured can be found in the ‘Terms of Use’ section of the website.
Questions?
If you have further questions or queries, or are experiencing technical difficulties, you are welcome to contact us at: healthyliving@flinders.edu.au.
Please note, further information about what is involved should you decide to sign up is provided during program registration.
