Project Details
About the Project
Patients diagnosed with prostate cancer face multiple choices about treatment options. Furthermore, care of these patients is shared between family physicians, urologists, radiation oncologists, and medical oncologists, meaning that patients may receive information from many different sources of information about their course of care. In an effort to streamline the way essential treatment information is delivered, Urologist Dr. Nathan Hoag and Radiation Oncologist Dr. Jonathan Livergant secured funding from the South Island MSA to develop prostate cancer supportive care education modules for patients in Victoria.
Engaging with local urologists, radiation oncologists, nursing, allied health, and colleagues at BC Cancer Agency, the group formalized an ‘Introduction to Prostate Cancer Treatment Options’ module, which was then delivered virtually via the Island Prostate Centre, a charitable organization that has offered services for 25 years. According to Dr. Hoag, there was a tremendous amount of added value by offering these modules using local clinicians, nursing, and allied health from the Greater Victoria area. “Patients like the idea of seeing their urologist, their radiation oncologist, giving them advice about the best course of treatment. If a physiotherapist gave a lecture about their service, patients could contact them directly for care”.
Rather than pre-record a lecture that could be sent to patients upon receiving a new diagnosis, the group elected to offer live sessions, to enable more interaction, and so the presenters could field real-time, specific questions from patients in the audience. 16 patients have now participated in these modules. They plan on delivering a new lecture each month for now, but can scale up or down as the need arises. Feedback from patients to date has been overwhelmingly positive.