1st March 2017

Stanhill Court Hotel, Charlwood, Horley RH6 0EP.

Vulnerable, disempowered, hope and fear – the words a patient used to describe her life after cancer at our Living with and Beyond Cancer event earlier this year.

The conference brought together patients, carers, clinicians and commissioners from across the South East region to share learning and good practice in caring for people after their cancer treatment.

More than 2.5 million people are now living with the disease in the UK, an increase of  400,000 in the last five years, and the day started with patient Marian Willmer talking about her post cancer experience.

The nurse, who finished her treatment last year, said: “I came to this meeting because I wanted to remind professionals that we are all individuals. That is a challenge for professionals as a lot of the treatment pathways focus on groups of patients.”

Clinical lead for the programme and Woking GP Dr Chrissie Clayton talked about the importance of the Recovery Package for every patient, which the Clinical Networks are promoting across the south east.

The tool includes a holistic needs assessment, treatment summaries, cancer care reviews and details of health and well-being events.

NHS England national programme lead Sarah Benger also emphasised this whole person approach. People require holistic support from diagnosis onwards, encompassing their physical, financial, psychosocial, and information and support needs, throughout their entire cancer journey. Care should be built around what matters to the person, and individuals should feel prepared for the life consequences of their cancer and its treatment, equipped to manage their care and with control over their life as a whole.

In the afternoon there were round table discussions covering a range of topics from community acute oncology, implementing electronic Holistic Needs Assessment (eHNA), the role of the GP and cancer care reviews, and the Croydon Navigator Service.

If you would like to take part in future events contact:

Adrienne Bean, Quality Improvement Lead, adrienne.bean@nhs.net