Support & Resources

‘Love My Family’ Community – our patient-to-patient network

Bowel Cancer Australia will mark its 10th anniversary in 2010 with the launch of the ‘Love My Family’ Community, a voluntary network of people affected by bowel cancer, whether personally or via a family member.

Together with our UK charity alliance partner Beating Bowel Cancer, we are committed to supporting individuals and their families through all stages of their journey. We are working hard to ensure ongoing awareness and support following a bowel cancer diagnosis.

The Community is informal, and members can be as involved as their time and lifestyle allow, in a variety of ways -

offering support to other patients or relatives about their bowel cancer experience (on the phone, by email or face to face); listening to their concerns and sharing experiences (including treatment, side effects and coping strategies)
raising awareness via local media and other means, or through our Health in the Workplace Program
organising fundraising events and activities

Through the Community, we aim to put people in touch with each other – matching them by age, gender, region and their stage of bowel cancer and treatment pathway. Contact details of matched members will then be provided, enabling members to contact each other at a time as they want to.

Talking to another member who has been through bowel cancer, or who is going through a similar situation to yours, can be enormously valuable and reassuring.

On each occasion, member’s details will never be disclosed to anyone without their permission and we will always check each time to ensure you’re happy to receive a call.

Relatives and friends of patients can also benefit from this support as we are able to put them in touch with other people who have a loved one with bowel cancer.

If you would like to receive an information pack about joining our Community – we want to hear from you!

International Links

Bowel Cancer Australia and UK charity Beating Bowel Cancer have launched a new international bowel cancer alliance, Bowel Cancer International, to lead the global fight against the disease.

Bowel cancer is the second biggest cancer killer in both Australia and the UK.

Through the alliance, we will work with our British counterparts, sharing ideas, information and resources to provide support for patients battling bowel cancer.

Over time, we look forward to inviting bowel cancer charities from other countries to join the alliance.

Patient-focused services we are developing include:

•	Patient information – we will publish a range of resources on all aspects of bowel cancer, giving patients the most-up-to-date information on the disease and its treatment.

•	National and International Patient-to-patient networks – when established, Bowel Cancer Australia’s ‘Love My Family’ Community will link with Beating Bowel Cancer’s Patient Voices Group (established in 2006) and we will be able to ‘match’ patients with similar experiences, allowing them to talk to each other on the telephone, via email or even to meet up. The groups are open to close relatives and friends of bowel cancer patients. Patients, their carers, close relatives and friends can be as involved as their time and lifestyle allows.

•	A Nurse Advisory Support Service – when established a nurse adviser will be responsible for dealing with phone and email enquiries from patients, relatives and others affected by bowel cancer (or bowel cancer symptoms).

Politics and policy

Our work in the area of politics and policy covers a number of important areas:

•	The National Bowel Cancer Coalition – a group of independent, non-profit organisations who have agreed to coordinate individual activities and work collaboratively to –
	Raise awareness of the risk of bowel cancer – Australia’s second biggest cancer killer; Reduce the number of people affected by bowel cancer; Improve the lives of patients with bowel cancer; Ensure there is sufficient policy emphasis on bowel cancer prevention as well as support for people diagnosed with the disease; and Advocate Government investment in R&D and clinical trials to be in line with bowel cancer’s relative burden of disease.

•	Bowel Cancer 2012 Challenge – released in March 2009 by the National Bowel Cancer Coalition, this important policy-shaping consensus statement highlights current problems and calls for improved services and outcomes for bowel cancer patients in four key areas:
	A coordinated, national awareness and education campaign to raise the profile of bowel cancer, proportional to the burden of the disease in Australia; Improved uptake of the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program, and its extension to include biennial screening for people aged 50+, in accordance with National Health & Medical Research Council guidelines; Resourcing for quick, accurate diagnosis and clinically effectively treatments at the right time in the right setting for all patients; and Recognition of the value of prolonged, quality life. Bowel Cancer 2012 Challenge The Challenge sets out our vision for combating the disease in Australia and improving bowel cancer patient outcomes over the next three years

•	Department of Health & Ageing – Bowel Cancer Australia is represented on the Australian Government’s National Bowel Cancer Screening Program Advisory Group and Communications Working Group, focusing on the roll out of the Program and the development of a national communications framework. We are also helping to promote participation in the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program, through our It’s Crunch Time™ Campaign, which features Max Walker.

•	Professional member organisations – Bowel Cancer Australia member physicians, surgeons and academics are registered members of relevant professional bodies such as the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons, Colorectal Surgical Society of Australian & New Zealand and the Gastroenterological Society of Australia, a number of who also hold executive positions.

Please note this is a UK Forum managed by Beating Bowel Cancer.