A whispered sort of stuff : views of Aboriginal cancer patients

Aboriginal people with cancer are missing out on life-saving treatment because some see it as a curse that Western medicine cannot treat, a new study shows.

Called A Whispered Sort of Stuff, the report is a unique insight into what Aboriginal cancer patients need, including hospitals offering a "welcome to country" and more kangaroo meat in their meals, and being aware that some people are scared of using lifts.

Funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council and the Cancer Council of WA, the study is based on detailed interviews with Aboriginal cancer patients.

It found treatment needed to be explained clearly and patients needed to be reassured by stories of people who had survived. Doctors and other staff also needed to be more sensitive to Aboriginal needs.

Press report