A new online support tool aiming to guide people through the psychological impact of their advanced/metastatic breast cancer diagnosis has now entered the testing phase, with those living with the disease invited to take part and trial the free program.
Developed by researchers at Flinders University with support from Breast Cancer Network Australia and Cancer Council SA, Finding My Way - Advanced is designed to support people through stage 4, also known as advanced metastatic breast cancer, which is a treatable but currently incurable form of the disease.
Program developer and clinical psychologist Associate Professor Lisa Beatty from Flinders University's College of Education, Psychology and Social Work says that while metastatic breast cancer can't be cured, improvements in medicine can help keep the cancer under control and have thankfully led to many people living longer, in some cases more than 10 years.
"This gives rise to a unique situation where someone can live for a reasonably long time following their diagnosis but alongside this, they also have to live with the uncertainty that the cancer may progress at any point," says Associate Professor Beatty.
"Our program is designed to help them through this journey, from navigating the healthcare system and their treatment, through to providing coping strategies for the physical, emotional and social changes that an individual may experience.
"Our ultimate goal is to help people come to terms with living with advanced or metastatic breast cancer as a chronic condition, but more important to be able to live well with it."
Initially developed over ten years ago, a different version of the program, Finding My Way, was designed to support those with a diagnosis of all forms of early-stage cancer, with that program now freely available in Australia, and also adapted by health services in England, Europe and the US.
"While that initial program has had a positive impact, we realised the materials weren't suited for those with an advanced stage diagnosis and we were missing the opportunity to support an important part of the cancer community," says Associate Professor Beatty.
"People with metastatic cancer are often overlooked when it comes to support services, so we wanted to create something that was targeted to their unique circumstances.
"We're starting with advanced breast cancer for this trial, but our hopes are to also tailor the program to other advanced cancers in the future."
Thanks to funding from Cancer Australia, Associate Professor Beatty and her team are now undertaking a large study to test the effectiveness of Finding my Way – Advanced, in hopes it too can be made freely available.
