Greg Millan believes a free program providing support for men with cancer or who have survived cancer will fill a void in the Hunter region’s health services.
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Cancermate is a free one-day program for men living with cancer and survivors of cancer and will be delivered by Millan on September 2 at the Calvary Mater Hospital, Waratah.
Millan is a social worker with over 30 years experience in men’s health promotion.
He is the president of the Men’s Health Forum NSW and vice president of the Australian Men’s Health Forum, which is Australia’s peak body for implementing a social approach to male health.
Millan is also a leukaemia survivor.
“It is the only program in the country for men,” Millan said. “There are heaps of programs for women but nothing for men.”
The program was first run in 2014 at Royal North Shore Hospital and will be held for the first time in Newcastle next week.
Millan said cancermate creates a safe confidential space for men to discuss their experience of having cancer with others going through a similar ordeal.
Millan knows from first-hand experience that the process of living with and undergoing treatment for cancer can be an emotional roller-coaster and has observed men go through this experience differently from women.
“It gives men the chance to talk about what happened when they were diagnosed … and what happens after that through the different stages, and how they cope with the stress,” he said.
He believes there is a gap that needs to be filled in health services for when men leave hospital after treatment.
“One of the differences between men and women is if women get diagnosed they go online for support but men don’t deal with the emotional side of it, men just want to know how to fix it,” he said. “Men just get through the treatment stuff, but it is that third stage, when you get out of hospital … that’s often when depression hits.”
Cancer is the leading cause of death in Australia. Millan said one in two men were being diagnosed with cancer before the age of 85 and one in three women.
The program provides information on men and cancer and different ways men deal with diagnosis, treatment and life after cancer.
Millan said it offers strategies for dealing with stress and anxiety and helps men develop ways to seek support from others as well as coping skills.
There are also discussions around planning for the short-term and long-term future.
Bookings are essential through greg@menshealthservices.com.au or by phoning 0417 772 390.