ARCHWAYS - After Cancer Health and Wellness for Adolescents and Young adults
ARCHWAYS is a team of health professionals within the Queensland Youth Cancer Service.
We are a survivorship service that supports the health and wellbeing of young patients living with and beyond cancer.
We work with you and your acute cancer treatment team to:
- coordinate care towards the end of treatment
- make recommendations for ongoing care and support.
What we do
We offer support for young people who were diagnosed with cancer between the ages of 15-25 years.
Our service is designed to help patients live well after cancer treatment.
We do this by working with patients to:
- prepare a personalised treatment summary for ongoing care
- set goals through survivorship care plans
- build support networks within their community.
“It is not just during treatment that I needed support. After treatment had its own set of challenges and opportunities.” – AYA cancer survivor.
Create a treatment summary
Use your treatment summary as a record of past and ongoing follow up care.
This includes information such as:
- your cancer disease
- the type of treatment you have received
- any possible future side effects caused by treatment.
Your treatment summary helps you maintain a record of the care you have received, and a guide for your ongoing follow up care.
You might like to share this with your GP or other relevant care professionals.
Work with you to develop a survivorship care plan
Your survivorship care plan (SCP) is a formal, written document that details:
- your personal information
- your cancer and treatment history
- any future check-ups or follow up tests.
Use your SCP as opportunity to reflect and create any some personal goals for living life after cancer treatment.
This could include any goals you have for:
- fitness
- well-being
- education
- employment.
Your SCP is yours to take with you wherever you go in the future and to share with whoever you think might need it.
Connect you with community support
We can connect you to a range of care professionals to build your support network.
This includes guidance to:
- find a local GP
- obtain referrals to community psychology, counsellors or mental health professionals
- connect with peer support networks
- liaise with experts to support transition to work and/or study
- identify healthcare professionals you may require after your specific cancer treatment (such as fertility specialists, dietitians or cardiologists).
How to access
We are a state-wide telehealth service that can connect with you wherever you live.
Your acute treating team will refer you to us during your cancer treatment.
When you are nearing the end of treatment, we’ll contact you via text or email to connect you to the service.
We understand that you might not feel ready to access this service right away.
Our services are available to you for up to 10 years after you have finished cancer treatment.
Contact us
To talk to us or make an appointment, contact our clinical nurse consultant.
Available Monday to Friday, 8am—4pm:
- call or text 0407 150 498
- email us archways_qycs@health.qld.gov.au.
Resources
- For more information, download the patient flyer.