Aim This study reports on any barriers to optimal treatment for lung cancer in South West Victoria.

Methods Treatment pathways on all patients newly diagnosed with lung cancer was collated (2015, n=200).

Results A total of 88% of the lung cancer patients had a history of smoking. Many of the patients presented at Stage III or IV at diagnosis (59%), 25% were diagnosed after an emergency department visit, 85% had chest x-rays, 92% had CT scans, and 86% saw their specialist within 2 weeks. Patients residing in Geelong were more likely to have their treatment plan discussed at a multidisciplinary meeting compared to patients in the South West (75% versus 42%). At 12 months post-diagnosis there was a higher survival rate for patients residing in Geelong compared to those living in the South West region (51% versus 31%) and for females (57% versus 36%).

Conclusion The majority of patients had a history of smoking and many presented with late-stage disease.

Complex medical procedures such as allogeneic bone marrow transplant (allo-BMT) require extensive medical and psychosocial information to be communicated to patients. Whereas, previously, patients only received information from their doctor and only during consultations, increasingly they access information in various modalities, from numerous sources and from a range of different health professionals, and at different times throughout the course of their illness and treatment. We present qualitative data from interviews with patients and nurses reflecting on information provision during allo-BMT. Patients’ vulnerability and the unpredictability of transplant outcomes highlights the necessity for, and importance of, ongoing information support. In this paper we highlight the role of nurses in supporting patients’ and families’ informational needs throughout the transplant trajectory. Nurses have a critical role in ensuring that patients receive relevant, rigorous and salient information during the course of allo-BMT so that their autonomy is respected and their adherence and capacity to cope is optimised.

Background The Victorian Cancer Plan aims to increase survival. As such, our study investigated the improvement in 12-month survival for newly diagnosed cancer patients in South West Victoria.

Methods Patients diagnosed in 2009–10 and 2014–15 and their treatment pathways are recorded in the Evaluation of Cancer Outcomes Barwon South West (ECOBSW) Registry. 12-month survival was compared and any association with demographics, diagnostic measures and treatment analysed.

Results 12-month survival was 77% for 2009–10 and 79% for 2014–15. Improvement in survival was found for those aged older than 70 years (increased by 5%), females (4%), those residing in higher socioeconomic regions (4%), head and neck cancers (4%), those who had surgery (3%), and surgery and a systemic agent (6%). There was no improvement in survival for any other combination of treatments.

Conclusion Although the overall 12-month survival did not significantly change, the improvement in some subsets of patients, particularly surgery, is promising.