Title: Consumer informed Timely Palliative Care: A Practical Framework
Background: Timely palliative care, delivered alongside standard cancer treatment, is associated with improved quality of life, better symptom control, reduced hospital stays and, in some settings, improved survival. However, for people living with cancer, conversations about palliative care can arrive too late, or not at all. Timely referral is limited by patient and clinician misconceptions and barriers about the role of palliative care.
Methods: A multidisciplinary working group, including consumers with lived experience, medical oncologists, haematologists, radiation oncologists, RACP educators and palliative medicine specialists, co-designed an accredited online continuing professional education (CPD) course. Course content was developed through an iterative process and shaped by consumer insights to ensure it addressed both clinical communication needs and the real-world experience of patients and families receiving cancer care.
Results: An online course provides cancer clinicians with practical communication strategies to introduce palliative care. It focuses on structured information delivery, recognising and responding to emotional cues, and addressing common misconceptions that can prevent patients and families from accepting supportive care. Peer review and testing highlighted the value of focused education providing clinically relevant information while remaining grounded in what matters to consumers: clear communication, choice, reassurance, and care that is aligned with personal goals.
Conclusion: Viewed through a lived-experience lens, timely palliative care education is not only a clinical skill but a critical component of person-centred cancer care. The involvement of people with lived experience informing this educational tool helps reframe early referral to palliative care as an added layer of support that can be integrated alongside active treatment, rather than as a signal of end-of-life care. By reinforcing knowledge and capability, the course aims to support meaningful conversations with patients and families, ultimately improving timely access to palliative care for people living with cancer.