Health professionals
Clinical practice guidelines for lung cancer:
- Cancer Council Australia Lung Cancer Guidelines Working Party (2012), Clinical practice guidelines for the treatment of lung cancer
- National Comprehensive Cancer Network (US), Clinical practice guidelines in oncology: non-small cell lung cancer
- National Comprehensive Cancer Network (US), Clinical practice guidelines in oncology: small cell lung cancer
Cancer Australia lung cancer guides and resources:
- Investigating symptoms of lung cancer: a guide for all health professionals
- Risk factors for lung cancer: an overview of the evidence
- Best practice approaches to the management of lung cancer in Australia
- A systematic review of the impact of stigma and nihilism on lung cancer
Lung Cancer Framework: Principles for Best Practice Lung Cancer Care in Australia
Cancer Australia’s Lung Cancer Framework is a national resource for health professionals and service providers who are involved in the care and treatment of people affected by lung cancer across Australia.
It aims to improve the outcomes and experiences of people affected by lung cancer in Australia by providing evidence-based, best practice information, strategies, tools and resources to support local adoption of the Principles for best practice management of lung cancer in Australia.
- Lung Cancer Framework: Principles for Best Practice Lung Cancer Care in Australia
- Lung Cancer Framework: At a Glance
Lung Cancer Framework Resources
Cancer Australia has released two resources to support the adoption of the Lung Cancer Framework’s Principles for Best Practice Lung Cancer Care in Australia: a resource for consumers and a resource for health professionals.
Both resources aim to improve the outcomes and experiences of people affected by lung cancer in Australia, irrespective of where they live.
The Consumer Guide contains guidance on what people with lung cancer can do to engage with and participate actively in conversations with their health professionals, and make informed, evidence-based decisions about the cancer care that is right for them.
The Guide for Health Professionals contains evidence-based information and best practice strategies, tools and resources to support adoption of the Principles into best practice lung cancer care.
These two new resources released by Cancer Australia, used in conjunction with the Lung Cancer Framework, will support health services to provide best practice care and ultimately improve outcomes and experiences for people affected by lung cancer across Australia.
Delivering best practice lung cancer care
- A summary for health professionals
- A summary for health professionals – Patient-centred care fact sheet
- A summary for health professionals – Timely access to evidence-based pathways of care fact sheet
- A summary for health professionals – Multidisciplinary care fact sheet
- A summary for health professionals – Coordination, communication and continuity of care fact sheet
- A summary for health professionals – Data-driven improvements in lung cancer care fact sheet
Investigating symptoms of lung cancer: a guide for all health professionals
Investigating symptoms of lung cancer: a guide for all health professionals assists health professionals with the identification and appropriate investigation of symptoms that may be lung cancer. The guide also supports the timely referral of patients into the multidisciplinary diagnostic pathway.
Diagnosis at an earlier stage leads to improved survival, however non-specific lung cancer symptoms can make both patient awareness and diagnosis challenging.
The guide provides information about optimal timeframes for investigation and referral at each step of the pathway, as well as information about different types of imaging for lung cancer. It also emphasises the importance of the multidisciplinary team in the care of people with lung cancer.
The accompanying Evidence Report supports the recommendations in the guide and includes additional recommendations to facilitate referral and patient support.
Investigating symptoms of lung cancer: a guide for all health professionals has been officially recognised as an Accepted Clinical Resource by The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP).
The guide has also been endorsed by the following colleges and organisations:
- Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine (ACRRM)
- Australian Primary Care Nurses Association (APNA)
- Cancer Nurses Society of Australia (CNSA)
- Consumers Health Forum of Australia (CHF)
- CRANAPlus
- Lung Foundation Australia (LFA)
- National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Worker Association (NATSIHWA)
- Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Radiologists (RANZCR)
- Royal Australasian College of Physicians (RACP)
- Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (RACS)
- Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand (TSANZ)
Optimal cancer care pathways for lung cancer:
These clinical guides for health professionals set out key principles for optimal care at each step of the patient journey from prevention through to survivorship / end of life care.
The guides have been endorsed by the National Cancer Expert Reference Group, Cancer Australia and Cancer Council Australia.
Patients and their family and carers can use the consumer versions to better understand an often complex health system, and to know what questions to ask of their health professionals to ensure they receive the best care at every step.
Help your patients and their family and carers understand the process they are going through by printing and sharing these guides as appropriate.
- View the Optimal Cancer Care Pathways or download consumer PDFs from www.cancer.org.au/OCP
- View the interactive consumer web portal at www.cancerpathways.org.au
- Lung cancer care pathway
For more information about lung cancer diagnosis and treatment, see the National Cancer Institute (US) Non-small cell lung cancer treatment – for health professionals (PDQ®) and Small cell lung cancer treatment – for health professionals (PDQ®)*.
*When reading materials that are published in other countries, note that some of the information may not apply to Australian patients.
