As a cancer patient, shared decision-making empowers you to take control of your diagnosis and how you want to be treated. Essentially, it involves collaboration with all the medical professionals you deal with to gain knowledge about your condition and the choices that you have. This puts you in control of your treatment so that you don’t feel vulnerable or powerless.

In this episode, we discuss shared decision-making from two entirely different perspectives. Caitlin Delany is a cancer patient herself and also an advocate for patients. She is the founder of CareFully, an organisation that empowers and trains healthcare professionals to deliver compassionate care. She gives us her unique insights into the importance of shared decision-making.

At the other end of the spectrum is Dr Yeh Chen Lee, a medical oncologist at the Prince of Wales Hospital, the Royal Hospital for Women and Chris O’Brien Lifehouse. She discusses both the difficulties and necessity of shared decision-making and how digital tools can make this easier.

So, if you’re a cancer patient yourself, make sure that you listen to this episode to learn more about the shared decision-making process and find out about the digital tools that are available to keep you better informed.

Additional Resources:

Congress For Patients website:

https://congressforpatients.com.au/

ASCO abstract:

Shared Decision-Making in the Care of Patients with Cancer

Article:

Shared decision-making as a method of cancer care

Global Community of Care Activists

The Patient Revolution

Article:

Digital health-enabled genomics: Opportunities and challenges