Counselling and Support

SOUTH WESTERN SYDNEY AREA HEALTH SERVICE
LIVERPOOL HOSPITAL
CANCER THERAPY CENTRE

Counselling and Support

Living with cancer can be difficult challenge and it entails a great deal of stress. Some emotions you may experience during the course of diagnosis and treatment include anxiety, fear, anger, depression, worries and apprehension. At times these emotions may become so distressing that you may want to be able discuss them with a professional counsellor and to explore better ways of coping with them in the longer term.

The clinical psychology service provides individual counselling /treatment for your difficulties and stress associated with your disease and treatment. Patient or family members are welcome to make an appointment to see the clinical psychologist by approaching the reception or any of the medical nursing or allied health staff of the centre who would be able to assist you in doing this. Where necessary, a member of the staff may refer you to the clinical psychologist after discussing this with you.

Gerald Au is the Clinical Psychologist working in cancer services. He has specialised in counselling in oncology for the past 5 years. Gerald can be contacted through the main Cancer Therapy Centre phone number 98285180.

Social Work

There are several social workers who work with cancer patients and their families at Liverpool Hospital, including haematology patients. The social workers provide counselling on an individual or family basis help people to adjust to the impact of cancer;- impact on relationships, employment, finances etc. This includes helpful ways to talk with you spouse, children and work colleagues about cancer.

One of the key roles of social workers is to link people to a range of assistance and services that may be available in the community. This includes pensions or benefits if people are needing periods off work due cancer or being a full time carer. A social worker may see patients in hospital to assist to arrange care at home after admission if this is required. This may include arranging a family conference with the patient, family and the doctors or other health care workers.

The social workers at the Cancer Therapy Centre see and support patients at the time of a new diagnosis, during treatment, palliative care, and in bereavement follow-up. The social workers coordinate the group support and education programs that occur in the Cancer Therapy Centre. Details on the groups are listed in the 'Group Education and Support' section or the site.

There are Sydney wide support groups that cancer patients may want to be connected with such as CANTEEN for teenage cancer patients & families or CANYA for young adult patients. The social worker has details of these programs as well as information the services of other cancer organisations such as the NSW Cancer Council.

The MacArthur Breast Cancer Support Group, provides advice, care and counselling for women with a diagnosis of breast cancer, with the contact person being Dorothy Kwasniak on (02) 4628 3116

Alison Pryor is the senior social worker in oncology, having previously worked at oncology units at Prince of Wales and St George hospitals. With the Cancer Services at Liverpool she sees the Radiation Oncology outpatients in CTC, and conducts many of the group and education programs in the Cancer Centre. Alison has some administrative ponsibilities in CTC and Social Work Department. Alison can be contacted through the CTC reception phone 9828 5180.

Teresa Simpson works with the Medical Oncology & Palliative Care teams. In addition to her social work skills, Teresa's previous experience as a Registered Nurse in Oncology is invaluable. Teresa can be contacted through the CTC reception phone 9828 5180.

Heather Aldis works with the Haematology patients and their families, she also works with radiation oncology patients that are admitted to the Haematology/Oncology ward. Prior to working at Liverpool, Heather was employed at the Sacred Heart Hospice. Heather can be contacted through the Social Work Department on phone 9828 4500.

The social work services are designed to help patients and their families feel more in control. Intervention is focused on helping people cope with the medical, emotional and social problems they encounter at different points of the cancer experience. There is a diverse population of cancer patients attending Liverpool Hospital, so the social workers offer a comprehensive program including counselling, utilising community resources, and group and education programs.

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