Breast Cancer Q&A - Supportive Care in Breast Cancer

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When someone is diagnosed with breast cancer, the journey goes far beyond medical treatments like surgery, chemotherapy or radiation. It becomes a deeply personal experience that affects every aspect of life — physical, emotional, and mental. That’s where supportive care plays a vital role, helping people manage side effects, cope with the psychological impact of cancer, and improve quality of life both during and after treatment.

Breast Cancer Trials invites you to re-watch our previous Q&A event, focused on the important topic of Supportive Care in Breast Cancer. This online session brought together a panel of leading clinician and research experts in oncology, psycho-oncology and nutrition, as well as a firsthand patient experience of breast cancer. Our panel explored how supportive care is evolving — and why it’s essential to comprehensive cancer care.

Supportive care includes a wide range of services and strategies, from managing fatigue and pain to offering counselling, dietary guidance, physical activity programs, and even specific techniques to reduce the side effects from treatment. These approaches aim to empower patients to not only survive, but to live well throughout and beyond their cancer experience.

Our expert panel explored several key areas, including the role of diet and exercise in supporting recovery and long-term health, and the innovative “Finding My Way” program, which helps patients manage the psychological challenges of breast cancer. We also explored the growing field of psycho-oncology, which focuses on the emotional and mental health needs of people with cancer.

In this recording you’ll hear about cutting-edge research in treatment de-escalation, including clinical trials such as OPTIMA, which is investigating whether some patients may safely avoid chemotherapy and the potential side effects without compromising outcomes. It’s a promising step toward more personalised and less intensive treatment plans — with fewer side effects and better quality of life.

We also highlighted how supportive care extends to oncology teams themselves, with initiatives that help them deliver high-quality, compassionate care while maintaining their own wellbeing. A healthy care team is essential to a healthy patient experience.

One fascinating area we covered was Deep Inspiration Breath Hold (DIBH) — a technique used during radiation therapy for breast cancer to move the heart away from the chest wall, reducing the risk of heart damage. Educating patients on this technique is just one example of how supportive care can also involve tools and education that protect long-term health.

Whether you’re currently undergoing treatment, in recovery, supporting a loved one, or simply interested in learning more, this Q&A is designed to give you helpful insights, practical advice, and the opportunity to hear from some of the leading voices in supportive care research and practice in Australia and internationally.