Social inclusion (or exclusion) has been one way of examining how people at the margins of society experience poor service provision but existing literature has not adequately explored cultural dimensions. The aim of this paper was to explore the cancer care experiences of Aboriginal people in NSW using a social inclusion lens.

Qualitative interviews were conducted with 22 Aboriginal people who had been diagnosed with cancer, 16 people who were carers of Aboriginal people with cancer and 16 health care workers (eight Aboriginal and eight non-Aboriginal health workers).

Participants' narratives describe difficulties in managing the practical and logistic aspects of accessing cancer care, particularly factors related to financial burdens, transport, accommodation and isolation. Three over-arching factors were identified that tied these experiences together including social economic status, trust (or mistrust arising from historic and current experience of discrimination), and difficulties in knowing the system of cancer treatment.

These three factors may have a role to play in working against the social inclusion of Aboriginal people in taking up and continuing in cancer treatment. This challenges the cancer care system to work to acknowledge these forces and create both practical and symbolic responses to these factors, in consultation and partnership with Aboriginal people, communities and health organisations.

This paper is submitted as part of a proposed symposium: Translating the evidence to improve cancer care for Indigenous people