Amid the masks, restrictions and angst over RATs, Border residents are still receiving diagnoses that turn their worlds upside down. A whirlwind of appointments, tests and treatments begin and everyday life is put on hold. It can be an overwhelming experience that leaves the individual feeling a little like a medical file.

For more than five years, the Border has been blessed - not too strong a word - by the presence of Albury Wodonga Regional Cancer Centre.

Since the East Albury facility opened in 2016, numerous residents have been cared for locally, avoiding much of the travel to capital cities once common.

And research like the eight-month project, Geriatric Oncology in the Instagram Era, aims to keep on improving that level of care.

A joint initiative of Border Medical Oncology, the UNSW Rural Clinical School and the La Trobe University John Richards Centre for Rural Ageing Research, the study used photos supplied by patients that started discussions about their lives and hobbies.

These extra details helped the care team more fully understand these patients' needs and priorities. For example, one patient in her late 80s submitted a photo of her golf trophies as something that was important to her - an interest that might otherwise go undiscovered by busy staff administering cancer treatment.

Such knowledge can be used to tailor care to each person and provide improved support during an anxious time.

Oncologist Associate Professor Christopher Steer notes COVID challenges have highlighted the role technology, such as telehealth, phones and cameras, can play in health care.

"We can use all of these tools to look after our patients in a better way and truly enhance supportive care as they go through this very difficult cancer journey," he said.

A $20,000 grant from the Albury Wodonga Regional Cancer Centre trust fund enabled the study, described as world-first, to go ahead. With community support a key driver, everyone who donates towards the centre makes such projects possible.

It continues to be money well spent.