WA Cancer Plan 2020-2025

The WA Cancer Plan 2020-2025 (PDF 6MB) was launched by the Minister for Health, Hon. Roger Cook in February 2020. The plan provides direction for WA to achieve a well-coordinated, consumer focused cancer control system and to improve cancer outcomes for Western Australians. 

Priorities for implementation have been determined. These include a focus on the following areas:

• developing state-wide leadership for resolving cancer issues that span across entities
• improving access to supportive and psychosocial care
• improving care and its delivery for those surviving cancer or living with cancer on a long-term basis
• improving access and outcomes for Aboriginal people and those living in rural and remote areas
• improving cancer data collections and their utility
• find cancer early for those at increased risk of inherited cancers
• providing reliable information to empower consumers decision making
• embedding Optimal Care Pathways and multidisciplinary team meetings
• developing genomic and personalised medicine capacity for cancer diagnosis and treatment in WA
• improving access to clinical trials for cancer patients. 

View the WA Cancer Plan 2020-2025 (PDF 6MB).

View the WA Cancer Plan 2020-2025 Priorities for implementation (PDF 5MB). 

WA Cancer Plan 2020-2025 implementation

A range of projects are undertaken by the Department of Health in relation to cancer treatment and care. Some of the Cancer Network’s projects include:

‘Understanding Consumers’ Needs for Cancer Information’ project  

• This project was carried out by the Cancer and Palliative Care Research and Evaluation Unit (CAPCREU) at the University of WA and involved a broad desktop review and survey to identify the cancer information needs for the general WA population.
• You can read the Understanding Consumers’ Needs for Cancer Information report (PDF 3MB) for more information on the project.

‘Cancer information needs for culturally and linguistically diverse (CaLD) consumers and carers’ project

• This project aims to better understand CaLD people’s cancer information needs and is a key priority of the WA Cancer Plan 2020-2025 (PDF 6MB) to provide reliable cancer information to consumers (Priority 2, Strategy 6).

• Consultation was undertaken with 175 CaLD consumers and carers in 2022 and identified a range of information needs. You can read the following documents for more information on the project and its findings:

  • Community consultation outcomes report (PDF 3MB)
  • Summary of key findings (PDF 2MB).

WA Cancer Data Strategy

• The Cancer Network began work on the WA Cancer Data Strategy project. However, since the release of the Australian Cancer Plan (ACP), the Cancer Network will instead work in collaboration with other stakeholders to assist the development of a National Cancer Data Framework (Strategic Objective 4.2.1). Contributions and findings from the project will help inform national cancer data priorities.

  Further information related to the WA Cancer Plan 2020-2025 implementation is provided via stakeholder Communiqués. You can email CancerNetwork@health.wa.gov.au to join the mailing list.

  You can read copies of previous Communiqués below:

• May 2021 (PDF 247KB)
• August 2021 (PDF 263KB)
• November 2021 (PDF 280KB)
• March 2022 (PDF 270KB)
• July 2022 (PDF 277KB)
• October 2022 (PDF 267KB)
• June 2023 (PDF 276KB)
• October 2023 (PDF 165KB)
• April 2024 (PDF 267KB)

Development of the WA Cancer Plan 2020-2025

Development of the WA Cancer Plan 2020-2025 commenced in April 2019 in consultation with the WA cancer sector and its consumers. Development of the WA Cancer Plan 2020-2025 was overseen by 3 project governance groups. These included a:

• project board made up of Department of Health and Health Service Provider executive members
• WA Cancer Plan advisory group made up of cancer experts
• WA Cancer Plan planning advisory group made up of service planning experts.

Consultation

Widespread consultation was undertaken to understand the current state and to develop the future state of cancer control and research for WA. The Cancer Network conducted extensive consultation with people affected by cancer, community members, leaders in cancer control, health professionals and researchers, as well as many government and non-government organisations.

Consultation included over 670 touch points of engagement through various activities including targeted consumer engagement, a cancer research forum, a cancer control forum, targeted interviews, and engagement of consumers.