NSW Cancer Research Education State-wide Seminar Series April 2026

Cancer Surgery Prehabilitation
In this webinar we will hear from three clinician-researchers who will discuss their work in cancer surgery prehabilitation. Jenny Mackney will present on the development and scaling of the C-SPRITES multimodal prehabilitation model of care, for people living with cancer in regional and rural NSW. Shane McAuliffe will then explore the critical role of nutrition as a core pillar of oncology prehabilitation, highlighting how targeted nutrition care can mitigate the adverse impacts of malnutrition and sarcopenia and optimise patient readiness prior to cancer surgery. Finally, Daniel Steffens will present a comprehensive, system-level model of cancer surgery prehabilitation, spanning risk stratification (PREdiCT), personalised care models (PRIMS), and scalable digital interventions (PRIORITY-CONNECT SMS and Home) to improve outcomes and access at scale. The presentations will be followed by a Q&A.

Speakers
Dr Jennifer Mackney. Clinical Specialist Physiotherapist & Clinical Research Fellow, Hunter New England LHD
Shane McAuliffe. Senior Dietitian, Chris O’Brien Lifehouse & PhD Candidate, UNSW Sydney
Professor Daniel Steffens. Senior Principal Research Fellow, NHMRC Clinical Trials Centre, The University of Sydney
 
Chair. Professor Kate White. Professor of Cancer Nursing, The University of Sydney