We have heard from some great guest speakers and had some wonderful discussions within the group this year. Our final meeting f0r 2021 did not disappoint.
Rockstar to some, Santa Clause to others and head and neck radiation oncology specialist at Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre to all, it was a huge pleasure to host guest speaker Dr Tsien Fua at the last meeting for 2021. Tsien presented to the group on the fear of cancer recurrence in Human-Papilloma virus associated Oropharyngeal cancers following radical chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Following the presentation Tsien and the group had an interesting discussion on a range of topics including the fear of cancer recurrence, the stigma and barriers to receiving psychological support, and the support and expectations of our family and friends during and after treatment.
We were pleased to welcome three new members who introduced themselves to the group. As always, the stories and experiences of new members are so familiar to other members expeirences great discussion and sharing quickly take hold of the meeting and before we know it it is time to say goodbye to each other – and in this instace goodbye to 2021.
We are looking forward to another successul year of coming together and supporting each other in 2022. We have decided to hold meetings monthly and over a broader range of days to provide members with more flexibiluty to attend. The list of dates for 2022 can be found here.
Thank-you again to all our guest speakers this year – Geri from PeterMac’s Wellbeing Centre, PeterMac Physiotherapist Erika, Sophia from Cancer Council, Jenelle Head of PeterMac’s Nutrition & Speech Pathology, Anna and Allison from the Consumer Repteam at PeterMac and last but by no means least Tsien.
Finally thank you to all 58 of our members – patients, carers, family and friends. Happy Christmas to you all and see you in 2022!