Now aged 66, Jane developed lymphoedema soon after birth but it remained undiagnosed until age 18. Amongst her many career achievements, Jane has written an (unpublished) memoir Cleaved about family estrangement and growing up with lymphoedema providing an important record of what it’s like to grow up with primary lymphoedema from birth to older age in the era when little was known or understood about it.
Jane will share stories of her personal experiences of living with primary lymphoedema and the learnings she has gained from the many and varied treatments she has been provided with over the years. The session will provide a context around what primary lymphoedema is and will be a valuable and insightful learning experience for any therapist who treats lymphoedema or who may come across someone with lymphoedema in their daily clinical practice, including the ability to ask questions in a live Q and A session.
Jane Cafarella is an Australian playwright, and former journalist, columnist and cartoonist, whose work has been widely published in Australia and overseas and whose plays have been performed nationally and internationally. During her 10-years at The Age Newspaper, she wrote and edited the popular Accent section, which focused on women’s issues. Jane’s cartoons were published regularly in Accent and other sections of The Age and in many books and journals. Her cartoon archive is held at the State Library of Victoria. After leaving The Age, Jane taught journalism for News Ltd for 10 years and lived and worked in Bangkok and Singapore, where she turned her hand to playwriting.
Her play e-baby, about surrogacy has been translated into Turkish and produced in Melbourne, Sydney, Hobart, Ohio and London, to critical acclaim. d-baby, Jane’s play about a donor-conceived teenager, was a finalist in the 2018 international playwriting competition New Works of Merit, and in the US-based Hidden River Arts 2019 playwriting competition. Jane has had numerous short plays produced in Australia, Singapore, and the UK. In 2020, her play Change Shift, written for the 2016 Tamil Pathay Nimidam Play Festival in Singapore, was made into a short film. In 2019, Jane’s show Uked! – The first play-along ukulele musical enjoyed two sell-out seasons in Central Victoria in 2019 and is now licensed by David Spicer Productions.
Her latest project is Turning Points, a monologue show about key moments in the lives of women, with plans for an Australian premiere in 2024. Jane’s narrative non-fiction book Cleaved, about family estrangement and growing up with a rare form of lymphoedema (a swelling disease), is currently on submission to publishers.
Cancer, Palliative Care and Lymphoedema National Group
06/03/2024
1 Hour
Please note: The content of this Lecture on Demand (LOD) was captured via a recording of a live lecture at the APA premises. Due to the nature of the event and the recording method, this LOD may not have captured some of the questions/comments from live audience. Your purchase of this module indicates your acceptance of this.
