Cancer Survivorship: State of Play in Research

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The research is clear... people living with and beyond cancer experience a number of factors and treatment side-effects impacting their ability to return to daily life and live better. The current and growing evidence base also highlights the need for change in how we address these unmet needs: digital health is proving to be the way forward.

We are actively involved in the development of research proposals and grant applications to publish our own research and validate the outcomes of our telehealth service and digital platform: 

The adoption of digital health technologies continues to grow. In 2024, over 1.3 billion individuals utilised digital health tools (Statista, 2024)

1 in 2 people will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime (Cancer Research UK, 2025)

In 2020, there were approximately 19.3 million new cancer cases worldwide (World Health Organisation, 2020)

The five-year global cancer prevalence was estimated at 53.5 million individuals in 2020 (World Health Organisation, 2020) demonstrating the increase of people living with cancer and the need for survivorship care

46% or people of working age with cancer do not return to work ((Australian Bureau Statistics, 2018)

Approximately 90% of people report cancer related fatigue during treatment and approx. 40% report cancer related fatigue post-treatment (Fabi et al., 2020) 

Grey Literature on Cancer Survivorship in Australia: Key Documents

Clinical Oncology Society of Australia position statement on cancer survivorship care https://www1.racgp.org.au/getattachment/a90f6a0a-69b4-43c7-94a2-1238575f2cb1/Clinical-Oncology-Society-of-Australia-position-st.aspx

Australian Cancer Plan

https://www.australiancancerplan.gov.au/welcome

For the past two decades we have developed and contributed to countless research studies on a variety of topics including cancer and employment, oncology rehabilitation, adolescent young adult cancer experience, blood cancer survivorship, psycho-oncology, occupational therapy and cancer and much more. A list of our research publications is below.  

Heathcote, L., Smith, A., et al. (2019). Pain education for adolescents and young adults living beyond cancer: An interdisciplinary meeting report. Journal of Adolescent and Young Adult Oncology (JAYAO).

Hatton, R., Smith, A., Wallis, A., Chu, A., & Stanley, M. (2021). Return to work and cancer: Perspectives of occupational therapists. Australian Occupational Therapy Journal (AOTJ).

Liddiard, K., Batten, R., Wang, Y., Long, K., Wallis, A., & Brown, C. (2017). Job Club: A program to assist occupational therapy students' transition to practice. Education Sciences, 7(3), Article no. 70. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci7030070

Markovic, C., Mackenzie, L., Lewis, J., & Singh, M. (2020). Working with cancer: A pilot study of work participation among cancer survivors in Western Sydney. Australian Occupational Therapy Journal, 67(6), 592–604. https://doi.org/10.1111/1440-1630.12685

Smith, A., Murnane, A., Thompson, K., & Mancuso, S. (2019). ReActivate—A goal-oriented rehabilitation program for adolescent and young adult cancer survivors. Rehabilitation Oncology, 37(4), 153–159. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.REO.0000000000000158

Taylor, S., Keesing, S., Wallis, A., Russell, B., Smith, A., & Grant, R. (2021). Occupational therapy intervention for cancer patients following hospital discharge: How and when should we intervene? A systematic review. Australian Occupational Therapy Journal, 68(6), 546–562. https://doi.org/10.1111/1440-1630.12750

Wallis, A., Meredith, P., & Stanley, M. (2020). Cancer care and occupational therapy: A scoping review. Australian Occupational Therapy Journal, 67(2), 172–194. https://doi.org/10.1111/1440-1630.12633

Wallis, A., Meredith, P., & Stanley, M. (2021). Living beyond cancer: Adolescent and young adult perspectives on choice of and participation in meaningful occupational roles. British Journal of Occupational Therapy, 84(10), 628–636. https://doi.org/10.1177/0308022620960677

Wallis, A., Meredith, P., & Stanley, M. (2022). Changing occupational roles for the young adult with cancer: A longitudinal case study. Australian Occupational Therapy Journal, 69(3), 243–254. https://doi.org/10.1111/1440-1630.12786

Wallis, A., Meredith, P., & Stanley, M. (2022). Occupational therapy in oncology palliative care for adolescents and young adults: Perspectives of Australian occupational therapists. Australian Occupational Therapy Journal, 69(2), 165–176. https://doi.org/10.1111/1440-1630.12780

Wallis, A., Smith, A., & Stanley, A. (2019). Occupational therapy in cancer care: Therapists’ perceptions of current challenges to practice in Australia. Australian Journal of Occupational Therapy.

Zomerdijk, N., Jongenelis, M., Short, C., Smith, A., Turner, J., & Huntley, K. (2021). Prevalence and correlates of psychological distress, unmet supportive care needs, and fear of cancer recurrence among haematological cancer patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Supportive Care in Cancer.

Zomerdijk, N., Jongenelis, M., Turner, J., Huntley, K., Smith, A., & Short, C. (2022). Telehealth access among hematology patients during the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia: A cross-sectional survey. Leukemia & Lymphoma, 63(6), 1488–1491. https://doi.org/10.1080/10428194.2021.2023743

Zomerdijk, N., Jongenelis, M., Yuen, E., Smith, A., et al. (2022). Experiences and needs of people with haematological cancers during the COVID-19 pandemic: A qualitative study. Psycho-Oncology, 31(3), 416–424. https://doi.org/10.1002/pon.5832

 We highly value the input of the lived experience of cancer, and this is why we pride ourselves on implementing co-design and the implementation of qualitative research.  This process involves collecting and analysing non-numerical data, on the consumers’ experience to understand concepts, opinions, and knowledge. This type of research is essential for gaining insights into the perspectives of people living with or beyond cancer and is helping us to shape our service and digital platform. 

We are committed to advancing research in cancer care and digital health, and we invite you to collaborate with us. Whether you have lived experience as someone living with or beyond cancer and want to contribute your insights, are a Master’s or PhD student passionate about cancer care research and digital health, or an industry partner seeking collaboration opportunities, we welcome your involvement. Your expertise, experience, and perspective can help shape innovative solutions to improve survivorship care. If you are interested in partnering with us on research, we would love to hear from you—reach out to explore how we can work together.

Australian Cancer Survivorship Centre. (2019). Returning to work after cancer: A guide for cancer survivors. Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre.

Cancer Australia. (2022). Cancer in Australia statistics. Retrieved from https://www.canceraustralia.gov.au

Flinders Cancer Survivorship Centre. (2020). Multidisciplinary rehabilitation for cancer survivors: Evidence and practice. Flinders University.

Jefford, M., Koczwara, B., Emery, J., Thornton-Benko, E., & Vardy, J. L. (2020). The important role of general practice in the care of cancer survivors. Australian Journal of General Practice, 49(5), 288-292. https://doi.org/10.31128/AJGP-09-19-5077

Jefford, M., Rowland, J., & Maher, J. (2016). Improving outcomes for cancer survivors: Perspectives on research challenges and opportunities. Journal of Clinical Oncology, 34(15), 1731-1736. https://doi.org/10.1200/JCO.2015.64.8040

Koczwara, B., Bonner, C., & Reul-Hirche, H. (2018). Supporting cancer survivors to return to work: A qualitative study of Australian healthcare professionals. Journal of Cancer Survivorship, 12(5), 668-677. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11764-018-0701-0

Smith, Andrew., Murnane, Andrew., Thompson, Kate., Mancuso, Sam., ReActivate—A Goal-Orientated Rehabilitation Program for Adolescent and Young Adult Cancer Survivors. Rehabilitation Oncology 37(4):p 153-159, October 2019. | DOI: 10.1097/01.REO.0000000000000158

Wallis, A., Meredith, P., & Stanley, M. (2021). The lived experience of returning to work after cancer: An interpretative phenomenological analysis. Australian Occupational Therapy Journal, 68(4), 327-337. https://doi.org/10.1111/1440-1630.12727

Cancer Statistics (2025). www.cancerresearchuk.org/ 

Digital Health-Statistics and Fact Sheets. Statista. (2025)https://www.statista.com/topics/2409/digital-health/ 

Fabi, A., et al. (2020). Cancer-related fatigue in cancer survivors: An overview. Frontiers in Oncology, 10, 1-9. https://doi.org/10.3389/fonc.2020.01032 

World Health Organization. (2020). Global cancer statistics 2020: GLOBOCAN estimates of incidence and mortality worldwide for 36 cancers in 185 countries. International Agency for Research on Cancer. https://doi.org/10.3322/caac.21660