About The Program
Finding My Way-Advanced is an online self-help coping program that offers information, suggestions, and support for women who have been diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer.
The program has been developed as part of a current clinical trial for any woman currently going through metastatic breast cancer treatment.
This program offers 6 modules of information and interactive features (worksheets, online activities, quizzes, relaxation / meditation, and a personal note-taking feature), that cover topics relevant to your metastatic breast cancer diagnosis and treatment.
Click here to sign up.
Please note: because this program is designed as self-help, it is not aimed at people experiencing crisis situations, and we do not have the ability to respond to concerns out of business hours. If you are experiencing a crisis, we recommend contacting Lifeline (ph: 13 11 14).
About the Research
As mentioned above, Finding My Way-Advanced has been developed, and is currently only available, as part of a research study. This research is funded by Cancer Australia.
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What participating involves
When you register, you will be asked to:
- Complete an online survey at the time of registering for the program (this takes about 30 minutes);
- Complete the 6-module program AND/OR use the My Journey resource (depending on which arm of the clinical trial you are randomised to – either the Finding My Way – Advanced program with My Journey; or My Journey alone. Which program you receive is determined by chance – like a toss of the coin);
- Complete three optional further online surveys: one after finishing the 6-week study period, and one 3 months and 6 months later, so we can track how you are travelling.
These surveys are an important part of evaluating the program. From asking everyone who takes part to do them, we are able to then evaluate who benefited the most from the program.
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How we evaluate the program
Our evaluation of the program (how people use and may benefit from the program) may be published in several ways. First, the results may be discussed / presented at various national and international conferences. Second, the results may be published in medical, health, and psychology journals. Stories may also appear in the media. It is important to know that the identity of all individuals who participate is kept confidential.
If you are interested in hearing the broader evaluation results of the study, you are welcome to contact us.
Privacy and Security
All personal details you supply are kept private and confidential. No identifying information will be released to anyone outside of the research team. For further information about our Privacy Policy, please see our ‘Terms of Use’ link, where the full privacy policy is available to view.
We have made every effort to ensure the that all data that is obtained through this program is secured and protected. Specific details about how data is secured can be found in the ‘Terms of Use’ section of the website.
Questions?
If you have further questions or queries, or are experiencing technical difficulties, you are welcome to contact us at: findingmyway@flinders.edu.au.
Please note, further information about what is involved should you decide to sign up is provided during program registration.
Click here to sign up.
Website & Program Development
The program is based on a print self-help workbook that the program authors developed and evaluated as part of Associate Professor Lisa Beatty’s PhD research in 2007-2008. The program authors then went on to develop and pilot-test an online version of this program from 2009-2012. In 2012 Associate Professor Beatty and Professor Koczwara, along with a team of local and national researchers, received a 3-year National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) project grant to update the website and test its helpfulness in a national study, which concluded in 2016. Since the successful completion of that study, our team has completed a series of studies to adapt the original program to be relevant for the needs of people with metastatic breast cancer, which you now see today. As you can see, in total this program has been over 15 years in the making!
Program Authors
Associate Professor Lisa Beatty, PhD (Clin Psych) is an Associate Professor in Clinical Psychology at Flinders University, and a visiting Consulting Clinical Psychologist in Medical Oncology at Flinders Medical Centre. Her areas of research and clinical practice focus on promoting adjustment to cancer, and developing accessible psychological interventions for people affected by cancer.
Prof. Bogda Koczwara, BMBS FRACP, MBioethics, is a medical oncologist with an interest in breast cancer management and is the Head of the Survivorship program at Flinders Cancer Research, Flinders University and Flinders Medical Centre in Adelaide, South Australia. Her main interests focus on management of breast cancer, supportive care, patient communication and decision-making.
Consumers / Health Professionals: The authors developed the content in collaboration with many women living with metastatic breast cancer through a series of discussion groups, and with other cancer health professionals, including nurses, cancer care coordinators, pharmacists, and radiotherapists.
Click here to sign up.
Website Developers
IUGO have been pleased to work with the Finding My Way team to help support women with advanced/metastatic breast cancer online. For more information about the webdevelopers, please check out their website: www.iugo.com.au/
Video Production by Oaten Roberts. For more information please check out their website.
