Accommodation services and supports for people with breast cancer in Australia: An environmental scan

Globally, breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer amongst women and remains a leading cause of cancer-related death. People affected by breast cancer and their families experience a range of physical, psychosocial, and practical challenges across the cancer trajectory. Supportive care aims to reduce the impact of these challenges, including through accommodation services that may facilitate access to treatment or provide respite and recovery. This paper provides an overview of an environmental scan of accommodation services available (with a focus on community-based, charity-operated, cancer-specific services) to people affected by breast cancer in Australia. Several organisations providing accommodation support for people affected by cancer were identified. Most services focused on facilitating access to treatment through short-term or subsidised accommodation near treatment centres. Relatively fewer services provided retreat- or respite-focused accommodation intended to support recovery and wellbeing beyond immediate treatment access. Respite- and recovery-oriented services varied in target population, geographic reach, and scope of support. Accommodation support services form an important component of supportive care for people affected by breast cancer. While treatment-focused accommodation models appear well established, respite- and retreat-oriented models were less common and may represent an area for further development to support wellbeing and recovery.