Advances in diagnosis, surgical, medical and radiation therapies have led to improvements in cancer survival. Currently, almost 7 in 10 Australians will survive for at least five years after a cancer diagnosis and in some cancers that survival is over 90%. It is estimated that by 2040, one in 18 Australians (1.9 million) will have lived through a cancer journey. Despite this significant progress, a large proportion of patients with cancer will experience heart disease, related disability and excess mortality as a result of their cancer and/or its treatment. Heart diseases are the second leading cause of death in patients with cancer, after cancer itself. Patients living with, through and beyond cancer have a greater than 2-fold increase in the risk of death from heart disease compared to that of the general population.

Recent advances have seen a paradigm shift away from this siloed thinking to focus on cardio-oncology, ultimately aimed at improving cardiovascular health of people living with and beyond cancer. The central aim of this project is to enhance the quality of life and overall survival of cancer patients by preventing cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in patients living with, through and beyond cancer. This will be achieved by implementing and accelerating guideline-directed, patient-focused prevention, early detection and management of CV complications as part of cancer support care, particularly for cancer patients living in regional, rural and remote areas.