Welcome to the first episode of Supportive Care Matters, a podcast Hosted by Medical Oncologist, Professor. Bogda Koczwara AM from Adelaide, Australia.
In today’s episode, Bogda speaks to Phyllis Berck, marathon runner, feminist and breast cancer survivor, about her work as a Patient Partner with the University Health Network, Toronto, Canada.
Born from her own traumatic experiences as a patient and driven by a desire to help others, Phyllis is committed to helping healthcare professionals see the ‘whole of the person’ and not just their cancer. Supportive Care Matters to Phyllis because she believes it prevents unnecessary trauma and promotes full healing when cancer treatments are completed.
This conversation is supported by Canteen’s Youth Cancer Services, providing specialist treatment and support for young people with cancer aged 15-25 in hospitals throughout Australia.
This series is proudly produced by The Oncology Network.
Host:
Professor Bogda Koczwara AM
Professor Bogda Koczwara AM is a medical oncologist and a senior staff specialist at the Flinders Centre for Innovation in Cancer in Adelaide, Australia.
Professor Koczwara completed her oncology training at the Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, New York, USA, and received a Master in Bioethics degree from Monash University, Australia.
Her clinical interests revolve around management of breast cancer, cancer survivorship, psycho-oncology and supportive care as well as health services development, integration with primary care and cancer education for health care professionals.
Connect with Bogda on Twitter: @bogda_koczwara
Guest:
Phyllis Berck
Phyllis Berck is a retired senior manager from the City of Toronto public service. In addition, she has been an advocate for gender equity in sport and physical activity for many years.
She is a masters distance runner.
Phyllis became a Patient Partner when she had an unacceptable patient experience at the UHN. She has been a volunteer in this program for about 5 years and served in many roles–strategic planning, setting research priorities, program development among others. Phyllis says this ‘has been an exceptional experience, knowing that my participation (and that of the other 150 patient partners) is contributing to the improvement of health care provision’.
Connect with UHN Patient Partners on Twitter: @UHNPatientExp
Resources:
Canteen’s Youth Cancer Services
Patient Partner Program at University Health Network (UHN), Toronto, Canada
Connect with The Oncology Network on Twitter: @OncologyNewsAus
