It may feel at times that a whole range of doctors, nurses and other specialists are involved in your treatment, making it hard to establish a constructive ‘working’ relationship with any of them. At first it can be difficult enough just to learn their names and what their role is. Once your diagnosis has been made and your treatment begins, this problem should ease as you become more familiar with the staff on your ward or at your clinic if you are being treated as an out-patient. In most hospitals, you will be assigned a consultant who is in charge of your care, and who may be one of several attached to your ward or clinic. Indeed, you may see more than one consultant if you are undergoing surgery as part of your treatment: you may have an oncology consultant responsible for your overall treatment, with a different specialist consultant in charge of your operation. Working for the consultants are a number of registrars who are doctors at various levels of seniority, and more junior doctors known as house officers. If yours is a teaching hospital, student doctors may also observe your care from time to time.
If you are undergoing radiotherapy, you will have contact with the specialist staff in that department who will administer your treatment each day. Men undergoing chemotherapy will be looked after during their treatment by specially trained oncology nurses, who are skilled both in administering chemotherapy drugs and looking after people affected by cancer. If you are treated as an in-patient, oncology nurses play a vital role in your day-to-day care.
You may also spend time at the X-ray department having scans or X-rays; a dietician can help if you have difficulties eating or with your diet; social workers are attached to the hospital to help sort out financial difficulties or benefits; physiotherapists can provide support with issues related to mobility and maintaining physical activity; occupational therapists can help and advise with special equipment or changes to your home which will make your daily life more comfortable; counsellors will be available to offer support. These are just some of the specialist services available to you as a patient, and which you can draw upon at any time. You may or may not need their expertise, but it is reassuring to know that they exist.
Outside the hospital, your GP will be kept informed of your treatment, and a district nurse will be available to visit you at home if needed and provide additional support. Depending on your circumstances and how unwell you are, Macmillan nurses or Marie Curie nurses can offer information, general support and specialist care at home if you need it.
While this may seem an excessively long list of people to be involved in the care of a single patient, it is also an indication of the sheer breadth of resources available to help and support you. While you may have contact with only a few of them throughout most of your treatment, it is important to know that your hospital can provide support with a variety of cancer-related issues, from pain-relief to dietary advice to financial advice. Do use these specialist skills when you need them!
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