The volunteers at Peer Connect have lived experience, understand the challenges that come with a cancer experience and want to help you. They can listen to you, answer questions and offer practical information and emotional support.
Who is Peer Connect for?
Any South Australian impacted by a cancer diagnosis, who is over the age of 18, can be put in touch with a Peer Connect volunteer. You can connect with Peer Connect if you are:
- recently diagnosed with cancer
- deciding on treatment options or managing their side effects
- facing challenges during recovery or survivorship
- caring for a loved one with cancer
- carrying a gene that increases the risk of developing cancer.
If you need urgent support, you can speak to a qualified health professional on Cancer Council 13 11 20.
For those under 18, similar support options are available through Canteen.
Who will I talk to when I call Peer Connect?
Our Peer Connect volunteers are real people who have experienced cancer.
We provide training to empower our Peer Connect volunteers — everyday people who have physically and emotionally recovered from their cancer experience — to provide emotional and practical support over the phone to people living with cancer.
We’ll connect you with somebody who understands your experience.
With volunteers from all over Australia, we endeavour to put you in touch with the right person for you — somebody whose experiences relate to your own. If we can’t find the right fit at the time, we can help direct you to other support services.
What can I talk to a Peer Connect volunteer about?
Our Peer Connect volunteers are here to provide friendly support, not medical advice.
Peer Connect volunteers are not health professionals or counsellors, but they do have lived experience with cancer, which helps them understand what others may be going through.
It’s like talking to a friend who has also lived with cancer. Being strangers to you, you may even find them easier to talk to than you would a friend.
You may want to talk about:
- cancer diagnosis
- surgery considerations
- treatment decision-making and side effects
- physical changes and appearances
- feelings and worries
- relationships and family planning
- financial and lifestyle changes, including work
- recurrence and survivorship
- carer issues and concerns.
You can’t do this all on your own and sometimes people that are really close to you, like your family, just don’t understand. I talk to them first about what they’re experiencing and then I give them my take on it or tell them about my experiences that are relevant or similar to what they’re experiencing. If I can share something that helps with what they’re going through, that’s what I want to do.
How can I speak with a Peer Connect volunteer?
To find out more about our Peer Connect program and see if it’s right for you:
- call our qualified health professionals on Cancer Council 13 11 20
- request a call back from one of our qualified health professionals
- send an email to askanurse@cancersa.org.au.
You will be referred to our Peer Connect Coordinator. They will call you to talk about the Peer Connect program, your personal cancer experience and what you hope to get from talking with a volunteer.
All information is kept private and confidential, and you can withdraw from the program at any time.
Become a Peer Connect volunteer
We are always looking for volunteers to join Cancer Council SA who are willing to share their experiences and support others diagnosed with cancer. Learn more and register your interest to become a Peer Connect volunteer today.
