Overview

The Geriatric Oncology Group supports advocacy action and activities that improve outcomes for older adults with cancer and recognise the importance of tackling ageism in cancer care.

Tackling Ageism in Cancer Care

COSA hosted an online multidisciplinary forum over two evenings on 22 and 29 November 2022.

This initiative, led by Dr Michael Krasovitsky and COSA's Geriatric Oncology Emerging Experts and Researchers Group, was developed as a means of progressing COSA's Geriatric Oncology Group’s agenda to improve outcomes for older adults with cancer, and it builds upon the advocacy piece submitted for Cancer Australia’s Australian Cancer Plan.

The Forum focused on the increasingly recognised concept of Ageism: how we feel about, act towards, and discriminate against older people, both consciously and subconsciously. As a community, it is our responsibility to understand and tackle this common bigotry. We believe that if we face our ageist biases and proactively work to reduce our devaluation of older adults, we can achieve person-centred, equity-focused and evidence-based care that improves outcomes for older Australians with cancer.

The inaugural COSA Ageism Forum brought together multidisciplinary cancer clinicians, geriatricians, consumers and world-leading ageism experts to facilitate an open and respectful discussion of how ageism affects our patients, and our colleagues.

The Forum took place over two evenings and four interactive sessions, with each involving a multidisciplinary conversation regarding real-world ageism, and its impact on patient outcomes, experience and systems of practice.

COSA joined the EveryAGE Counts coalition as a recommendation from the Ageism Forum. COSA is committed to continuing to support activities that challenge ageism in cancer care and improve outcomes for older adults with cancer

Ageism Forum Recordings

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Evening 1

Evening 2