Poster Presentation Clinical Oncology Society of Australia Annual Scientific Meeting 2026

 How CCNSW Practical Support services are alleviating financial toxicity   (146391)

Bianca Beetham 1 , Jenna Lennon 1 , Sophie Anderson 1 , Erica James 1 2 3 , Caitlin Fehily 1 , Pareoranga Luiten-Apirana 1 , Vanessa Johnston 1 4
  1. Cancer Council NSW, Wooloomooloo, NSW
  2. University of Newcastle, Newcastle
  3. University of Sydney , Sydney
  4. UNSW , Sydney

Aim  

Financial toxicity is a significant and increasingly recognised consequence of a cancer diagnosis. This poster describes the scope, reach and effectiveness of a portfolio of recently evaluated Cancer Council NSW’ supportive care services. These services remove barriers to treatment and supportive care services, reducing financial stress and burden.  

Method  

The portfolio of services includes accommodation support (funding accommodation during treatment related travel), pro bono legal and financial planning services (professional legal and financial advice at no cost for eligible clients), and financial counselling (support with debt and financial hardship). Performance monitoring and evaluation data will be presented for each service. 

Result 

  • Financial support towards accommodation is delivered to ~55 clients per year. Clients reported improved access to treatment, reduced cancer-related costs, and alleviated accommodation-related financial stress, with 88% of surveyed clients reporting reduced financial stress. 
  • Pro bono legal support is provided to over 1000 clients per year (equating to $2.3M of legal advice) and pro bono financial planning to ~400 clients (equating to $2.7M). 74% of legal clients (n=81) and 67% of financial planning clients (n= 28) indicated without Cancer Council they would not have accessed professional support. Stress ratings decreased and coping ratings increased for clients across both services. 
  • Financial Counselling is provided to ~120 clients per year. Clients agreed or strongly agreed that this helped them improve their financial situation (80%) and feel more in control of their financial concern/s (73%). 

All services support proportionally more Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, people living in rural and remote locations, and those from the two most disadvantaged SEIFA quintiles than the NSW cancer patient population. 

Conclusion 

Across all services, there is consistent evidence that the services are alleviating financial toxicity by reducing the financial and practical burdens associated with cancer for those most in need.