Rising to the Challenge of Life After Cancer

Jeffrey Charles Dunn AO (Officer of the Order of Australia) is Professor of Social and Behavioural Science and Chair of Cancer Survivorship in the Division of Research and Innovation at the University of Southern Queensland where he leads research into strategies to improve survivorship outcomes for people affected by cancer. Alongside this he is Chief of Mission and Head of Research at the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia. Jeff’s focus is the connection between research and practice, working closely with leading academic and clinicians across the country to change policy and practice to improve outcomes for people affected by cancer. Jeff is the Immediate Past President of the International Union for Cancer Control based in Geneva. Jeff was appointed an Officer in the General Division of the Order of Australia in 2014 for distinguished service to medical administration through leadership roles with cancer control organisations and promotion of innovative and integrated cancer care programsIn August 2022 Jeff was diagnosed with a stage three rare and aggressive Blastoid Mantle Cell Lymphoma for which he received an autologous stem cell transplant and has ongoing therapy.Suzanne Kathleen Chambers AO (Officer of the Order of Australia) is Executive Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences at the Australian Catholic University. She is a registered nurse and practising health psychologist who has worked as a practitioner and researcher in psychological support for people with cancer for over 30 years. Professor Chambers is an Officer of the Order of Australia for distinguished service to medical research, particularly in the area of psycho-oncology, and to community health through patient care strategies to people with cancer.Jeff and Suzanne are life partners and, in this book, they connect their professional and personal experience to provide pragmatic and evidence-based advice about common challenges after a cancer diagnosis.

'The strength of this book – aimed at helping people with cancer, their families and loved ones – is the authenticity that comes from two cancer professionals who have been through, and are still going through, dealing with cancer themselves either as patient or partner, reaching out to share their objective knowledge along with their personal experience. These authors set the standard for how to write about coping with cancer by bringing together the weight of their many years of professional experience with their personal journey. A very helpful book to guide others through the emotional, social and physical maze that cancer presents. I highly recommend it.'Adjunct Professor Maggie Watson PhD. DipClinPsych. AFBPS. Editor Emeritus: Psycho-oncology: Journal of Psychological, Social and Behavioral Dimensions of Cancer and Associate Fellow British Psychological Society'Despite all the advances in cancer diagnosis and treatment, or perhaps because of them, navigating a myriad of challenges after a cancer diagnosis, can be an overwhelming task for the person with cancer and their family. The stakes could not be higher. And while the technical information on treatment types and side effects is increasingly available, the more existential questions of what this illness means to me, my life and my loved ones, often remain unanswered.Enter Rising to the Challenge of Life After Cancer: Expert Advice for Finding Wellness – a concise Q&A style guide to some of these questions, written be a pair of experts in supportive care in cancer who are also experts through lived experience of facing the cancer diagnosis themselves. The guide explores key issues of meaning, normality, identity, relationships, and flourishing with honesty, courage and a touch of self-deprecating wit, that is so uniquely Australian. This is not a sanitized scholarly manuscript – this is the story that touches deeply at emotions. As a result, the words of advice are not only convincing because of their grounding in evidence, but also because of their authenticity.It takes courage to take a great personal challenge, like a cancer diagnosis, and use it for a greater good. Professors Dunn and Chambers have done just that, and we are all better for it.'Professor Bogda Koczwara AM BM BS FRACP MBioethics FAICD she/her . Senior Staff Specialist, Department of Medical Oncology, Flinders Medical Centre. Professor, Flinders Health and Medical Research Institute, Flinders University

• Foreword. Acknowledgments. The Authors. Chapter 1. What Am I Facing?. Chapter 2. Is There a Best Way to Make Decisions About My Treatment?. Chapter 3. What Is Prehabilitation and How Can This Help Me?. Chapter 4. How Do I Know if I Am Coping Well?. Chapter 5. Is There a Helpful Way to Think When Under Stress?. Chapter 6. Identity: Who Am I Now?. Chapter 7. How Does Cancer Affect Relationships?. Chapter 8. I Feel Stuck: How Can I Change This?. Chapter 9. What Are the Wellbeing Essentials?. Chapter 10. Is It Possible to Flourish After Cancer?. Resources and Connections.