Dr Thaker and the team at North Lakes

With so much happening at RBWH’s main facility in Herston, it’s important to showcase the work of our amazing teams at our satellite facilities too, such as the North Lakes Cancer Care Service.

The North Lakes Cancer Care team is currently conducting vital research into how older persons with cancer and their carers or families benefit from the current Geriatric Oncology service at North Lakes and Caboolture.

Senior Staff Specialist Dr Darshit Arunbhai Thaker said the research came about as the team wanted to know how the Geriatric Oncology service was helping patients maintain their quality of life while they are going through chemotherapy, and to find ways to improve the service’s offering.

“This patient cohort is often frail and can struggle with chemotherapy. Maintaining quality of life as they undergo treatment is extremely important,” Dr Thaker said.

“So far, we have received feedback from more than 1,500 patients, families and carers. Using those findings, we have identified patients who are able to receive chemotherapy for longer periods and decreased the number of hospital admissions.

“As clinicians, we don’t know what we don’t know. It’s important to continually learn from our patients and this project will reveal whether the service is making a valuable difference.

“We hope to see the Geriatric Oncology service become the standard of care across all HHSs in the future. All older person with cancer can benefit from this screening, assessment, and allied health intervention, regardless of their postcode.”

The project involves a range of teams at RBWH, Caboolture Hospital and North Lakes Health Precinct including medical oncology and haematology,, allied health professionals, nursing researchers and nursing staff at.

Well done to all involved for helping improve the quality of care we provide to our patients.