Key achievements 2011–2015

This NSW Cancer Plan builds on the achievements of previous cancer plans. Find out about the many successful initiatives that have been developed as a result of the NSW Cancer Plan 2011–2015. 
See the current NSW Cancer Plan performance index. 

Collaboration

• Engaged people affected by cancer in all aspects of the Cancer Institute NSW's work.
• Implemented the NSW Skin Cancer Prevention Strategy 2012–2015 which co-ordinated endeavours across 13 organisations and supported the ban on cosmetic use of commercial solaria in December 2014.
• Held annual meetings with Local Health Districts and Medicare Locals to report on cancer service delivery and benchmark performance across the state.
• Collaborated with clinicians and health agencies to understand variation in cancer outcomes and drive system improvement.

Facilitation

• Facilitated access to BreastScreen NSW by Aboriginal women, which has increased participation from 31.4 per cent in 2009–2010 to 37.4 per cent in 2014–2015.
• Encouraged breast cancer screening participation by women from culturally and linguistically diverse communities which has resulted in a participation rate of 45.0 per cent.
• Developed the Aboriginal Quitline service which has gained credibility in the community, as demonstrated by a 32.0 per cent increase in the calls between 2012–2013 and 2013–2014.
• Enhanced the accessibility of the Arabic, Chinese and Vietnamese Quitlines.
• eviQ has now been endorsed by all Australian jurisdictions as the preferred resource for evidenced-based cancer treatments. 
• Facilitated the sharing of research infrastructure across NSW to ensure equitable access and optimal use of investments in scientific equipment.
• Increased iCanQuit participation, with approximately 500,000 unique website visits in 2014–2015, an increase of 30 per cent from the previous year. 
• Continued growth of Canrefer, with an average of 17,235 views per month in 2012–2015 and the listing of 223 hospitals and cancer services, 204 multidisciplinary teams and 1052 specialists.
• In 2015 95 per cent of the NSW population had access to a cancer centre within 100 kilometres of their residence. People in rural NSW received 85 per cent of their healthcare within their Local Health District.

Investment

• Initiated Translational Cancer Research Centres which have connected researchers, clinicians and health services (irrespective of administrative boundaries) to address key questions facing cancer-care in NSW.

• Developed Australia's first fully integrated statewide Clinical Cancer Registry to deliver data on the quality of cancer care in NSW.
• Increased the capacity of BreastScreen NSW services which now includes 45 BreastScreen NSW sites and 16 mobile vans (which visit more than 160 locations every two years).
• Invested in cancer research over a period of ten years, including for clinical trial support, making the Cancer Institute NSW the largest NSW based funder of cancer research.
• Strengthened public interest studies and doubled the number of people participating in clinical trials since 2004.

Education

• Developed the "Listen out for Lung Cancer" campaign, which has increased awareness of lung cancer symptoms without stigmatising smokers.
• Developed eviQ education modules that have been successfully implemented across NSW and nationally. For example, the Antineoplastic Drug Administration Course has been implemented in over 285 hospitals nationally.
• Developed “Cancer treatment side effects: a guide for Aboriginal Health Workers”, which provides practical information to assist in managing the potential side effects of cancer treatment. 
• Developed a new range of patient education information materials for people undergoing cancer treatment which have been translated into 9 languages so far.
• Contributed to a decline in adult current smoking prevalence from 17.2 per cent in 2010 to 15.6 per cent in 2014 through the Cancer Institute NSW's tobacco control campaigns.
• Contributed to a decrease in young people’s preference for a suntan from 60.2 per cent in 2006–2007 to 41.4 per cent in 2013–2014.