What works well in cancer care?

Do you have any examples of care that could have been done better, more efficiently or didn’t need to be done at all? 

At Macmillan I’ve been thinking a lot about cancer care and the health and social care workforce. But to help us better understand what needs to change, I want to hear from you about your experiences:

• Have you or a loved one been supported by NHS professionals to look after yourself?
• Do you feel care could have been provided at home or in the community?
• Can you think of anywhere that communication between professionals could be improved?

 Currently, support does not always meet every person affected by cancer’s needs. The health care system needs to urgently make improvements if it is to meet demand in 2030 when the number of people living with and beyond cancer will have doubled to four million.

Click on the image above to view a video demonstrating the rapidly rising numbers of people living with and affected by cancer.

As a member of the public affairs team here at Macmillan, I am working as part of a project group looking at the challenges facing the health and social care system in the future. We are trying to determine what needs to change to meet these challenges. My colleagues and I are testing new ways of delivering cancer care, supporting the vital care given by carers and volunteers, and looking for opportunities to influence changes in government.

We have already spoken to clinicians and are now looking for some real-life experiences from people who have received care. We’d be really grateful if you commented below or emailing me at twindle@macmillan.org.uk.

Cancer Nurse Specialists do a fantastic job. There are strong links between a patient having access to a Clinical Nurse Specialist and a patient having a positive experience of care.  But there aren’t enough of them and there isn’t enough money in the system to come close to meeting demand for them. 

As the population ages, the number of people diagnosed with cancer will increase. But as cancer treatments improve, people can survive for many years beyond their initial diagnosis, living with cancer as a manageable long-term condition.

Sadly, surviving cancer is not always the same as living a full and healthy life, there are often long lasting consequences of treatment 

Increasingly, people are dealing with multiple health conditions besides cancer, which poses a whole new set of challenges to delivering care. There is a real risk that the current health and social care model, with its specialist focus on acute care and individual conditions, will struggle in future.

How do you feel the system works in addressing your needs? What challenges do you think health and social care professionals face? Do you have any experience of multiple conditions in addition to cancer?

Your thoughts on these issues would really help us to start pushing for things to change.