National Volunteer Week 2019
#NVW2019 https://nationalvolunteerweek.nz/
National Volunteer Week celebrates the collective contribution of the 1.2 million volunteers who enrich Aotearoa New Zealand.
National Volunteer Week 2019 runs from June 16-22. This year’s theme is “Whiri Te tangata - weaving the people together". Volunteering, Mahi Aroha and social action weave people together.
This week the Network celebrates our volunteers, and acknowledge their work. We invite more people to join us to
Kia ora tatou,
This is me, and my friend Hazel. In 2011 we were on the Derwent river, Hobart, Australia. We were on our way to see MONA, the Museum of Old and New Art. We had just presented our paper at the ASCILITE conference, Thinking, researching and living in virtual professional development community of practice.
We were thrilled that our paper was well received. We were further delighted, when a respected Italian academic invited to write a book chapter in her upcoming book. In 2013,
From our representative Heather Anderson.
The Thursday afternoon sessions started with Prof David Currow (Cancer Institute NSW, Australia) talking about prioritisation experiences in cancer control in Australia – in particular hubs of excellence. See his presentation here.
Hon Steve Maharey, the new Chair of PHARMAC, talked on the processes of PHARMAC – my personal take was that he used his “newness” to avoid the hard questions. There was an item of interest that he talked on which was a new d
We are intending to make a submission on the current state of the New Zealand health and disability system. We will collate all your responses and present them to the Review. Submissions from organisations are powerful. We intend to advocate for the best treatment, care and support for people affected by head and neck cancer. If you wish to share your thoughts you can do so by accessing our survey here. https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/GZZY9F8
The Government is currently asking for feedback on the
Professor Skegg
Heather Anderson continues her summary of attending the Cancer Care at the Crossroads conference.
For me the Conference started on Wednesday afternoon. The pre-Conference lecture was from Dr Fatima Cardoso. She is a world reknown oncologist with an interest in Advanced Breast Cancer (ABC) from Lisbon. She and others have been instrumental in setting up ESMO. This is a 10 step guidelines program to improve outcomes for those with ABC. Dr Cardoso travels the world helping cou
Heather Anderson, is one of the Network Committee members. Together with Brian Sheppard, she attended the recent Cancer Care at the Crossroads Conference, at Te Papa, Wellington. In this article, Heather shares her thoughts and impressions from the conference.
My mind has been spinning since attending the Cancer at a Crossroads Conference. The conference was at Te Papa in Wellington. So much information and so many phenomenal people. The Data is so specific I will not even try and report on tha
Brian Sheppard, is a member of the Head and Neck Cancer Support Network committee. He attended the recent Cancer at the Crossroads conference. Following the conference shares this message with you. If you would like to work with us to advocate for higher standards of cancer care, we would love to hear from you. Please email headandnecknetwork@gmail.com
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I would like to extend my sincere thanks to the organisers
Boston — The 96-year-old patient with pneumonia in Bed 11 was angry. “Do you really need to check my vital signs every four hours?” he asked.
Checking things like temperature, blood pressure and respiratory rate every four hours on hospitalized patients has been the standard of care since the 1890s, yet scant data indicates that it helps. In fact, data shows that close to half of patients are unnecessarily awakened for such checks, perhaps to the detriment of their recovery. My patient wanted t
Heath Navigator is a website for New Zealanders. It is crammed full of resources, and support on health related matters. https://www.healthnavigator.org.nz/
One of the resources is a link to an app for people who cannot speak but can read. It will do the talking for you. The app is available for both iOs and Android systems. There is a modest fee.
https://www.healthnavigator.org.nz/app-library/s/speech-assistant-aac-app/
Video from a patient perspective about the ben
Over the next few months we are profiling our committee, so that you know them a little better.
The first cab of the rank is our Chair, Diana Ayling.
The United States accounts for five percent of the world's population but consumes almost 70 percent of the total global opioid supply, creating an epidemic that has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths each year. How did we get here, and what can we do about it? In this personal talk, Travis Rieder recounts the painful, often-hidden struggle of opioid withdrawal and reveals how doctors who are quick to prescribe (and overprescribe) opioids aren't equipped with the tools to eventually get
Readers, Val Ireland made an impassioned plea for help following a series of poor outcomes from head and neck cancer treatment/reconstruction in Auckland.
You can read Val’s story here. http://nzh.tw/11966945
I have decided to openly respond to Val to encourage open discussion about the current service, and the steps we, at the Network are taking now, and in the future to improve the performance of the service.
An Open Letter to Val Ireland
Dear Val,
Thank you, for courageously telling your sto
There's no art to find the mind's construction in the face. - William Shakespeare
These plastic surgery quotes were retrieved from New Zealand clinician sites on 4 December 2017.
“...it’s your face which people notice first. Your face projects an image to people about who you are.”
“Plastic Surgery: Empowering You With The Confidence To Succeed In Both Your Career & Social Life.”
“Look and feel truly amazing.”
“... facial features undergo gradual changes that can result in a ti
Kathryn is one of our regular contributors. Her husband Greg was treated for adenoid cystic carcinoma not long after the loss of their daughter to cancer. I asked her if she had wisdom to share on how to deal with the suffering that cancer causes us. Here are her words.
The top illustration is of their happy place, their farm just out of Whangarei, rolling country dotted with native bush. There's one of the Parnell Rose Gardens, one of Greg fixing his car with his youngest son and of the Auckla
The "Patient Pathway" describes the patient experience of treatment, care, and support. It is the route that a patient starts from their first contact with a health professional. It includes a GP referral and continues through treatment. It also covers the period from entry into a hospital or a treatment centre, until the patient leaves. It includes the period after treatment, including followup and surveillance.Who is a Fellow? Why do some doctors and surgeons have the title "Fellow"? What does all this mean for patients?
In an otorhinolaryngology (ORL) ward you may meet a Fellow carrying out various treatment and care roles including the outpatients clinic. They may be involved in treating head and neck cancer, caring for people pre and post surgery, and undertaking some surgery.
In New Zealand, Teaching Fellows in ORL are qualified surgeons, who have trained and are registered by the Medical Co
Please share your thoughts on your recent treatment experience. This can be at any stage of your cancer journey, pre treatment, treatment, post treatment, and survivorship.
You can take our survey as many times as you like, and we encourage you to have your family/whanau and carers share their thoughts as well. Click the link to share your thoughts.
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/PatientNZ
