Four Western Australian cancer specialists will share in $850,000 of McGowan Government funding in 2022 as part of the WA Cancer and Palliative Care Network (WACPCN) Cancer Fellowship program.
In its ninth year, the program supports medical practitioners to expand their experience and skills that will ultimately lead to improved health outcomes for cancer patients.
The 2022 Fellowships were awarded on merit and will help achieve the State Government’s WA Cancer Plan 2020-2025 priorities which include the development of WA’s genetic oncology expertise and reducing the disparities in cancer outcomes for Aboriginal people.
The program is administered by the WA Department of Health’s Cancer Network.
The medical practitioners awarded WACPCN Cancer Fellowships for 2022 are:
Dr Nicola O’Neil: Genetics Training
Dr Nicola O’Neil, currently a Medical Oncology Clinical Trials Fellow, will use her WACPCN Fellowship to upskill under the supervision of Genetic Services of WA. Dr O’Neil intends to become a cancer genetics specialist, developing WA’s genetic oncology expertise.
Dr Ngie Chang Law: Shifting the Curve – Translating contemporary trials for improved bladder cancer survival
Dr Ngie Chang Law, a Medical Oncology Registrar, will study cancer, blood and urine samples at Fiona Stanley Hospital with the goal of predicting the best treatments for new bladder cancer patients.
Dr Zi Yun Ng: Genomic Instability in Myeloproliferative Neoplasms
Dr Zi Yun Ng, a Clinical Haematology Registrar, will undertake research at Royal Perth Hospital with the goal of predicting the progression rate of myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN), a group of blood cancers which approximately 900 Australians are diagnosed with each year.
Dr Kim Kennedy: Closing the Gap for Indigenous Head and Neck Cancer Outcomes
Dr Kim Kennedy, a Medical Oncology Registrar at Fiona Stanley Hospital, will study the patient and treatment-related factors which contribute to poorer survival rates from head and neck cancers in Aboriginal patients and determine which factors are modifiable to help reduce the disparities in cancer outcomes for Aboriginal people.
As stated by Health Minister Roger Cook:
“A cancer diagnosis has lasting implications for individuals, their families and communities.
“With more than 158,000 cancer-related hospital admissions throughout WA every year, making up 14.4 per cent of the State’s total hospitalisations, a cancer diagnosis also has a significant impact on our health system.
“The research and training to be undertaken by these doctors could profoundly improve the lives of Western Australians who receive a cancer diagnosis.
“These fellowships also align with the McGowan Government’s WA Cancer Plan, a blueprint for action to provide the best possible cancer services for Western Australians.”
