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Purpose and strategy

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We have worked tirelessly since our inception to lessen the impact of cancer in the community.

Our goal is to eradicate the burden of cancer completely and we have worked in partnership with Government, health practitioners, researchers, cancer advocacy groups, charities and cancer sufferers to make considerable inroads since 2003.

However, there is always more we can do.

That's why in November 2010, we released the NSW Cancer Plan 2011-15, a landmark document that will set the platform for cancer control in NSW over the next five years. This is our third statewide cancer plan since 2004.

The NSW Cancer Plan 2011-15 reflects an integrated approach to reducing the burden of cancer in NSW.

It was developed in collaboration with community members, non-government organisations, health professionals, patients and carers.

Through the NSW Cancer Plan 2011-15 we have identified three main goals we will strive towards in coming years:

To reduce the incidence of cancer

  • Reduce smoking prevalence.
  • Reduce over-exposure to ultraviolet radiation by behaviour modification.
  • Create environments that promote healthy lifestyles and policy to support these directions.
  • Encourage participation in current screening programs where pre-cancerous lesions can be detected.

To increase survival with cancer

  • Encourage participation in current screening programs where early detection of cancer improves survival (breast, cervical and bowel cancer) with more effective engagement of potential participants.
  • Improve earlier diagnosis of cancer by improving awareness of symptoms that may herald cancer.
  • Reduce variations in cancer outcomes in NSW by providing timely feedback of quality information to drive systems improvement, and by providing information on performance of the cancer system to health services, practitioners and the community.
  • Reduce the gap between established best evidence, and the care actually provided by defining areas where reducing this gap will improve outcomes.
  • Provide support for a sustainable high-performing workforce by developing and supporting systems to sustain life-long learning, and by investing in research to facilitate uptake of new evidence into clinical practice.
  • Improve models of service delivery.
  • Embedding health services research in cancer care.

To improve the quality of life for people with cancer and their carers

  • Improve assessment and response to the needs of people affected by cancer, in patient-centred health systems.

Underpinning these initiatives will be

  • A focus on improving cancer outcomes for Aboriginal people, people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds and people in rural and remote NSW.
  • A reporting cycle on the performance of cancer services.
  • Greater system-wide engagement with primary care.
  • Enhanced research capabilities with an emphasis on clinical trials, translational research and the more rapid uptake of new evidence into practice.
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