Online Information and Stories

Online Information about Palliative Care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people

• Cancer Australia developed ‘Yarn for Life’  to support people to begin conversations about cancer.
• Pop Arthur comic tells the story of a man on his end-of-life journey in the midst of family who aren't sure what should be done. 
• Palliative Care: 'It's the beginning of your health care dreaming’ brochure (385kb pdf).

Fact Sheets

• Cancer Australia have developed a range of resources to provide information to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people affected by cancer and their families.
• Cancer Council NSW, Cancer Council SA, Cancer Council WA, Cancer Council VIC, and Cancer Council QLD have a series of cancer fact sheets for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families including:
  • Let's talk about living with cancer (2.70MB pdf)
  • Understanding Cancer Talk (251kb pdf)
  • Looking after someone with cancer (88kb pdf)
• Marri Ma Health Aboriginal Corporation have a booklet Cancer Information for Patients, Family and Friends (7.92MB pdf)
• Northern Territory Department of Health have produced booklets on palliative care for patients with various conditions:
  • Palliative Care for Sick Hearts (3.52MB pdf)
  • Palliative Care for Sick Lungs (3.46MB pdf)
  • Palliative Care for Sick Kidneys Part 1 (4.70MB pdf) and Part 2 (4.87MB pdf).

Real Stories

It can be comforting to hear real stories from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families who have been through similar experiences.
These online stories may be relevant:

• Listen to a podcast of Karen's Story from Palliative Care Victoria. Karen has cared for three family members with cancer. She describes how palliative care helped on the journey to the Dreaming.
• In our care into your hands: Aboriginal stories about approaching the end of life (762kb pdf) from the Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District in NSW.
• Wominjeka: Welcome to our Journey (4.08MB pdf) from Victorian Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation.
• Aboriginal Cancer Journeys (557kb pdf) from Cancer Council NSW.
• A cancer journey: a cancer story for remote Indigenous patients in the Northern Territory (1.73MB pdf) from the NT Department of Health.

Last updated 08 July 2019