Living with and beyond cancer

During the second phase of the partnership we focus on how we can develop future services to support people to get back to being themselves after cancer.

About

In the first phase of our partnership with Macmillan Cancer Support we secured significant improvements for patients. Amongst other improvements we rolled out the navigator service, employed eleven new clinical nurse specialists to support people affected by cancer, and established Schwartz Rounds which help to promote compassion in healthcare.

The next phase of our joint ‘supporting you through your cancer care’ programme will look at how we can better support people living with and beyond cancer.

The effects of cancer don’t stop after treatment ends. Many people have enduring consequences of their cancer — people like Androulla and Rob, who share their experiences of life after cancer here. Living with these is much like living with any long-term condition. During the second phase of the partnership we will focus on how we can develop future services to support people to get back to being themselves, as well as cope with the on going physical and emotional effects of cancer and cancer treatment.

Many of the things that people need to help them live well with and beyond cancer sit outside the hospital’s walls, out in the community. That is why we will be working closely with patients, primary and community healthcare providers, social care organisations, community organisations and patients and carer support groups to shape and then deliver this work.

We have listened

Between September and November 2016, we spent a lot of time talking to patients, carers, doctors, nurses and others who fund, plan and provide care to people affected by cancer across north west London. We asked them to tell us about what makes it easier to get back to being yourself after cancer, and what makes it more difficult. We also asked each group about the role they can play in making things easier for people living long term with, or beyond, cancer.

This included over 10 events. Some were formal focus groups, while on other occasions we went out into the community, to train stations and community events, to invite people to talk to us as they passed by. We also enabled people to contribute their experiences and opinions online via a survey and through social media.

We are now in the process of collating all this feedback and using it to decide what we can do together to ensure that no one faces cancer, or the ongoing effects of cancer, alone. We will update this page further when we have developed more detailed plans, so please do check back again soon.

If you would like to talk to us even though the formal period of engagement has ended we would still love to hear from you. Please email us at lwbcNWLondon@Macmillan.org.uk.