At-home chemo is changing the lives of Aussies fighting cancer

Some 74,644 men and 63,676 women will be diagnosed with cancer in 2018 alone, with breast, bowel, prostate, melanoma and lung cancers being the most commonly diagnosed conditions.

Those stark numbers from the Cancer Council mean that every year, tens of thousands of Australians and their families begin what is stressful, emotional process.

That’s because after the initial shock of the diagnosis and the pressure of having to make important treatment decisions, patients must usually spend a significant period in hospital as well as hours travelling to and from doctor’s appointments, which can be physically exhausting for them and disruptive for their families and carers.

When Medibank member Olive was diagnosed with chronic leukaemia, the 85-year-old found herself in this very situation. Her daughter and son-in law were her chauffeurs as she attended regular chemotherapy treatments, but Olive couldn’t help but worry that she was “taking up” their time with her lengthy chemotherapy appointments.

“I couldn’t fault the treatment, and I couldn’t fault the staff,” she says. “But they’re so busy, that sometimes you’ve got to sit there for a while to get everything removed, and then you drive all the way home again.

“By the time I’d been doing that for seven days, I really felt tired, and thinking, thank goodness that’s over.”

Later, though, Olive was able to take part in a trial program run by health insurer Medibank that allowed her to receive chemotherapy in her own home.

The Medibank at Home – Chemotherapy Trial began in Western Australia in May 2016, and has since has since been rolled out in South Australia and Victoria. Medibank’s members may be eligible to take part in the at-home care program if their hospital insurance covers chemotherapy services, and the treating doctor deems it appropriate for the patient.

“At first, I said ‘chemo at home is going to be expensive, isn’t it?’ I was quite relieved when I found out that Medibank were covering it,” Olive says.

Chemo is usually given intravenously, which means via a vein. Sometimes, though, it is given in other ways, such as orally, as a cream or as injections into different parts of the body.

In Olive’s case, her chemo treatment was delivered intravenously by qualified nurses and experienced service providers who attended her home in Perth. Her nurses called the day before her appointments to confirm what time they would arrive at her place, and over the six-month treatment program got to know Olive personally.

“It’s been lovely to get to know her and her family,” Olive’s nurse Stacey, says.

Olive thinks being treated at home made living with cancer somewhat easier than the tiresome hospital visits.

“Thanks to Medibank, and the chemo home program, there were many days where because I don’t have to be concerned about these things, that I don’t even feel as if I have leukaemia,” she says.

Like Olive, other participants in the Medibank at Home trial report that they’re able to continue with activities of daily life, helping them feel more ‘normal’.

Medibank says it’s keen to give members more say over where they receive their cancer treatment.

“We’re exploring new service models to provide our members with greater choice and increased flexibility by offering chemotherapy in the comfort and familiar surroundings of their own home,” Rebecca Bell, Medibank’s general manager – Member Health says.

The insurer says that more privacy, time saved on travelling and the ability to be near a family or support network are some of the biggest benefits of at-home chemo.

“The trial also supports a more sustainable healthcare system,” she says.

The insurer has rolled out hip and knee replacement rehabilitation in the home nationally, and is trialling delivering palliative care and dialysis in the home, with hopes that the encouraging results in these trials will lead to a national roll-out.

Have you fought cancer? Would an at-home service like this have made your life easier?

IMPORTANT LEGAL INFO This article is of a general nature and FYI only, because it doesn’t take into account your personal health requirements or existing medical conditions. That means it’s not personalised health advice and shouldn’t be relied upon as if it is. Before making a health-related decision, you should work out if the info is appropriate for your situation and get professional medical advice.