Cancer Care

Our program aims to improve clinical and care outcomes for all people affected by cancer, including cancer survivors, caregivers, consumers, health professionals and health services and systems. We do this through the purposeful co-design of innovative, pragmatic and high-quality research.

Australia has the highest incidence rates of cancer in the world (measured by new cancer cases per 100,000 people) and also has some of the best survival rates. Accordingly, there is an ever-growing proportion of the population that is living with, or beyond, cancer. Today, there are over one million people living with cancer in Australia, highlighting its major health impact on society. Cancer has substantial social and economic implications for individuals, families, the community and the health system, with those affected experiencing significant unmet care needs and symptoms requiring attention.

Our cancer care program consists of a diverse group of multidisciplinary clinicians and researchers who are steadfastly focused on addressing the complex care needs of all people affected by cancer. They aim to achieve this through consumer-informed, industry-relevant research, with a common goal to transform health services and systems and inform clinical care to improve the experience of all cancer survivors.

Areas of focus

Cancer Care

Cardiac Care Innovation

Clinical and Community Partnerships

Healthy start to life

Inclusion and disability

Intensive care

Quality aged care

Our Research

The Caring Futures Institute has a strong and experienced team of multidisciplinary researchers across a number of health professions to progress our ambitious program of work promoting optimal cancer survivorship care.

We develop and evaluate health innovations that promote the best outcomes for people with cancer and their caregivers across the cancer trajectory that is delivered by high-quality and sustainable health services. Through research supported by significant competitive grants and industry contributions, we aim to:

Address cancer survivors' needs
Address caregivers' needs
Enhance the integration of care
Optimise models of care
Influence policy

Our leading researchers in this field

Professor Raymond Chan

Professor Raymond Chan RN PhD FACN GAICD is an NHMRC Investigator Fellow and Professor of Cancer Nursing, leading several NHMRC and MRFF national research projects focused on optimising models of care and health services to address the needs of people affected by cancer in the survivorship phase.

Dr Fiona Crawford-Williams

Dr Fiona Crawford-Williams PhD is a research fellow in the program with a strong track record in psycho-oncology research. Her areas of interest include investigating the effectiveness of public health or health service interventions and exploring the survivorship care needs of cancer survivors and their families living in rural and regional areas.

Dr Nicolas Hart

Dr Nicolas Hart PhD AES CSCS ESSAF is Deputy Lead of the program and a Senior Research Fellow focused on improving outcomes for people living with advanced and metastatic cancer through cancer survivorship and supportive care (including exercise, nutrition, psychosocial and toxicity management), and cancer outcomes (including disease biology, disease progression and overall survival).

Dr Matthew Wallen

Dr Matthew Wallen PhD AEP is a Research Fellow and Accredited Exercise Physiologist focused on investigating the effects of lifestyle interventions on cardiometabolic, musculoskeletal and psychosocial health in people living beyond a diagnosis of cancer, as well as solid-organ transplant candidates and recipients.

Other CFI researchers in this field

Mary-Ann Carmichael

Read more about our cancer care research

Partner with us

We can’t reinvent care alone. We need partners across industry, government, and the general public to co-design the projects and new support mechanisms. Let’s work together to understand the building blocks of care in our society.

We can make a difference together.
Be the change.

Collaborate with us