New research to look at the best treatment for cancer survivors
UOW’s Dr Gemma McErlean is on a mission to create a better patient experience
February 4, 2025
A cancer diagnosis and ongoing treatment is one of the hardest things a person can go through, but survival comes with its own challenges.
has spent more than two decades creating better outcomes for cancer patients, through her work as a registered nurse, clinical trial nurse, educator and researcher.
Her latest research will work directly with cancer and transplant survivors to identify individual wants and needs in long-term survival.
“We know from international literature that transplant survival can lead to a range of chronic conditions like cataracts, neurological and cognitive conditions, cardiac disease, osteoporosis and more,” says Dr McErlean.
“We want to know how nurses can better deliver care for survivors with these conditions and get an understanding of the costs of ongoing treatment.”
Dr McErlean is seeking individuals in NSW of all ages who have survived stem cell or bone marrow transplant following a cancer diagnosis.
“People who have a transplant must come back to hospital at least once a year for full assessments for the rest of their lives. There are currently only five hospitals in NSW that perform these types of transplants, so people in regional areas have to travel for care,” she says.
The study will gather qualitative data from transplant recipients on the type of transplant they received, any ongoing conditions they have and their personal preferences when it comes to their own care.
The research is an extension of Dr McErlean’s PhD thesis, which included an in-depth survey of more than 400 questions to over 430 transplant survivors from across the state.
“Through interviewing patients, we found that people develop very close relationships with their transplant team, so they may be happy to come back for those yearly assessments,” she says.
“We want to know if this is the best use of patient’s time, hospital resources, and whether this could this be delivered in the community. It is about figuring out how we can satisfy that while making long-term care sustainable and efficient.”
Dr McErlean’s research is supported by UOW Health Innovations, an interdisciplinary network connecting researchers to patients to collect first-person data and provide consumer-informed care.
Anyone who has experienced ill-health or interaction with health services is encouraged to register for the , a secure and voluntary network of health consumers to help inform better practices.