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Three key messages about living well after cancer:

  1. Establishing goals is very important. Setting short-term, achievable goals helps build your confidence so you can achieve more difficult, long-term goals that are sustainable.
  2. The individualised Wellbeing Care Plan can help you document all your relevant information to create a comprehensive ongoing care plan.

After experiencing a cancer diagnosis and going through treatment, it is natural to want to establish new priorities towards a healthier lifestyle.  Setting new goals and coming up with solutions on your own can be both mentally and physically challenging, especially considering some of the ongoing side-effects of cancer treatment that may still be present. Our Wellbeing after Cancer is an opportunity for you to start making changes towards a healthier lifestyle.

Goals should be Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Timely. It is important to set some short-term goals and achieve them. This builds confidence to achieve more difficult, long-term goals.  Check out some tips for goal setting at the LiveLighter website.

When setting a goal, look at what may get in the way of achieving your goal. By identifying any barriers, a plan can be made to work around these obstacles.

Keeping on track is a tool used to document what you are doing to reach your goals. You can use the tracking documents below to record what you eat and how much physical activity you do daily. This can help identify areas that you may want to improve upon to work towards a healthier lifestyle. It is important to remember that it is okay if you go off track. It is just a case of picking up where you left off and knowing that you are actively working towards your goals.

It is important to remember that sometimes we do not keep on track, and this is okay. It is just a case of picking up where you left off and not being too tough on yourself. Other helpful resources include:

After cancer treatment, having a survivorship care plan can be helpful, such as the Cancer Council WA version below, called the Wellbeing after Cancer Care Plan.

Survivorship care plans are emerging as an important tool in addressing the needs of individuals after cancer treatment. The Institute of Medicine recommends that everyone who has completed primary cancer treatment receive a comprehensive follow up care plan which can help improve communication between you, your family and all the health care professionals involved in your care (e.g. your GP, Oncology Treatment Team, Psychologist, Exercise Physiologist, Dietitian and Physiotherapist).

A survivorship care plan should include:

  1. Your diagnosis and the type of treatments received.
  2. The short-term and long-term effects of treatment (what to be alert for and when to visit doctors).
  3. How the care plan will be coordinated between all your health care providers.
  4. Lifestyle changes you may need to reduce the risk and severity of treatment side effects and promote better health.
  5. Useful community resources, including support groups and relevant organisations.

The Cancer Council WA Wellbeing after Cancer Care Plan includes all this information and can be completed online and then printed, or printed out and completed by hand, for you to take along to discuss with your health care professionals.

Cancer Council’s Living Well After Cancer booklet provides information and tips for wellbeing after primary cancer treatment has finished.

For specific physical activity and nutrition experts: