We are driving the next generation of discoveries to address critical cancer challenges and accelerate the translation of scientific evidence into patient benefit.
Fostering an outstanding cancer care workforce to help maintain and enhance world-leading patient outcomes through online learning, courses and events.
This Victoria-wide initiative is designed to enhance outcomes for all Victorians affected by cancer by nurturing consumer leadership and consumer-led research across Victoria, driving positive changes in the healthcare system.
The program harnesses expertise from consumers statewide, in collaboration with the following organisations:
What is the Cancer Consumer-led Research Partnership?
The Cancer Consumer-led Research Partnership involves people with a lived experience of cancer – consumers – and staff from five cancer control organisations:
The partnership will improve outcomes for all Victorians affected by cancer by fostering collaboration in consumer leadership and consumer-led research across Victoria, driving positive changes in the healthcare system.
How will we do this?
The voice of consumers is crucial to bringing about positive changes in healthcare, and this project will amplify their voices. The partnership aims to enhance the way the cancer sector engages with consumers, through collaboration, consumer-led approaches, and most importantly, by developing a statewide network of consumer leaders.
The program unites collective expertise and encourages collaboration in the development and delivery of an immersive consumer education and mentor training program. It will generate transformative evidence and reshape leadership perspectives among consumers and their collaborators, build knowledge and skills for consumers and organisations who engage with them, and ultimately enhance patient outcomes for those experiencing cancer.
This statewide initiative will support three goals to:
Amplify consumer leaders across Victoria
Create and deliver an immersive consumer leadership masterclass - Lead from lived experience: enhancing cancer care
Conduct a consumer-led research project to evaluate consumer influence.
The uniqueness of this program lies in its consumer-led approach, where consumers are not only active participants but key decision-makers. With significant representation of consumers across various roles and functions, including governance, research, education, educational training co-design program participants, and mentors, the program ensures diverse consumer voices are at its heart. The program aims to directly engage more than 60 consumers from across Victoria, making this program truly consumer centric.
What is a consumer?
In the healthcare sector, a consumer is considered to be someone who has personal experience with health issues, care, and recovery. This refers to people, families, carers and communities who are current or potential users of health services. Consumers play an active role in navigating the cancer pathway and make decisions about prevention, screening, treatment, managing symptoms and accessing support services.
Different organisations or individuals may use different words than ‘consumer’ for someone with a lived experience of cancer or the healthcare system. Others prefer to be known as advocates, healthcare advocates, or patient advocates. Whatever your preference is, your lived experience of cancer matters to us and is central to this pioneering project.
Support
This program is funded by the Victorian Government.
More information
Subscribe to the VCCC Alliance newsletter for updates on the partnership's activities and how to get involved.
