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Showing results for tags 'Cancer'.
Found 545 results
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Content ArticleThis report from Macmillan Cancer Support takes stock of how far the UK’s health and care services still need to go on integration for high-quality, personalised cancer care to be a reality for everyone. The analysis suggests there are four key dimensions to personalised, integrated cancer care that need to be addressed: everyone with cancer can access personalised, joined-up care; people with cancer are supported by health and care professionals consistently working together; people with cancer receive personalised, integrated care across services provided by different parts of the system; and services are designed, commissioned and funded around the goal of personalised, integrated cancer care.
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Content ArticleThe ongoing impact of COVID-19 on health services across Europe has in most cases led to significant reductions in cancer screening, testing and diagnosis. The resultant delays in diagnosis are impacting cancer treatment and survival and are likely to do so for many years to come. Responses in individual countries and for individual tumour groups have differed, but there are common challenges in all countries. Some solutions go above and beyond the obvious actions that all countries are taking, and there are examples of how the system has reacted so far that provides the basis for further discussion on building lasting resiliency into healthcare systems and preparing for post-pandemic recovery. This report, published by IQVIA, highlights some of the approaches already being taken, as well as suggestions for what should be done going forward. It considers different stakeholders – from local pharmacies to national and international organisations – and their roles, as well as multi-stakeholder collaboration and cooperation. It aims to highlight initiatives adopted in some countries that can be shared more widely.
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Content ArticleA reported 40,000 fewer people started cancer treatment in 2020 due to COVID-19. As a result, for years to come, cancer services will need to diagnose and treat substantially more people, with many requiring urgent care.
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Content ArticleThis guide will support healthcare professionals to integrate prehabilitation services into the cancer pathway.
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Content ArticleDr S. Vincent Rajkumar is a Professor of Medicine at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. In this account, originally published via a Twitter thread, Dr Rajkumar remembers how the insight of Mike Katz, a patient with myeloma, left an incredible legacy for patient safety.
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Content ArticleThe Covid-19 pandemic has both laid bare and exacerbated the strain the cancer workforce has been under for many years. When the pandemic hit, some services were forced to pause, whilst others had to quickly adapt and many have still not ‘returned to normal’. Some cancer nurses were also deployed to care around the clock for the half a million people admitted to hospital with coronavirus. The practical and emotional impact of this disruption on people living with cancer has been profound. Macmillan’s new research establishes that cancer nurses are being stretched too thinly, trying to be there at our time of greatest need, and coping with the physical and emotional toll of the pandemic. Cancer and the devastating impact it has on lives should not be forgotten, and neither should our nurses and NHS. In this report, Cancer nursing on the line: why we need urgent investment across the UK, Macmillan is calling for Governments across the UK to invest a total of around £170 million to fund the training costs of creating nearly 4,000 additional cancer nurses required by 2030 to provide the care people need.
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Content ArticleThis article by Lauren Nicolle discusses the measures that can be taken by both healthcare professionals and the patient to reduce the impact of Covid-19 on the thousands of cancer patients that have had their treatment disrupted.
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Sarcoma awareness month: knowing the signs of sarcoma
PatientSafetyLearning Team posted an article in Cancers
Sarcomas are uncommon cancers that can affect any part of the body including bone, muscle, ligaments, fatty tissue and blood vessels. It is a condition which 75% of people in the UK are not aware of. Early detection is key to improving survival rates. In this blog, published on the NHS website, Dr Suma Kuna, MacMillan GP and Clinical Lead for Cancer and Palliative Care, talks about what sarcoma cancer is, and the signs to look out for. -
Content ArticleAnyone with the signs and symptoms of sarcoma needs to be seen as early as possible and referred to services that can quickly and accurately confirm the diagnosis. Doing this can save lives. Sarcoma UK are calling on policy makers to make faster and more accurate diagnosis a reality for the sarcoma community. They recommend that: A sarcoma education programme for healthcare professionals should be rolled out, placing importance on the individual impact of sarcoma and how it is important to rule it out, not rule it in. Awareness of sarcoma and its symptoms needs to improve. Sarcoma can occur anywhere in the body and it is vital that the public are aware of this. Ensure that there are clear and efficient referral pathways that allow primary healthcare professionals to access the optimum route for all their patients. Access their reports and policy documents by following the link below.
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Content ArticleArtificial intelligence tools and deep learning models are a powerful tool in cancer treatment. They can be used to analyse digital images of tumour biopsy samples, helping physicians quickly classify the type of cancer, predict prognosis and guide a course of treatment for the patient. However, unless these algorithms are properly calibrated, they can sometimes make inaccurate or biased predictions, as Howard et al. demonstrate in this study.
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Content ArticleMacmillan Cancer Support have created a guide to help healthcare professionals integrate physical activity into the cancer care pathway. The guide is also intended to be read together with Physical activity and cancer: the underrated wonderdrug.
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Content ArticleThis report shares findings from complaints made to Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) about failings in imaging in the NHS. The majority of these complaints involve people who had cancer at the time they used imaging services. Through highlighting these complaints, the PHSO’s objective is to support NHS services to improve. It suggests that failings in imaging services can only be addressed and learned from through collaboration across clinical specialties, looking at the whole imaging journey and its intersections as part of the patient’s care pathway.
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The breast cancer surgeon who got breast cancer
Patient-Safety-Learning posted an article in Cancers
Liz O'Riordan, a breast cancer surgeon of 20 years, describes her experience of developing breast cancer, having to give up her job and how now she has been able to help hundreds of thousands of women through her book, blogging and being an ambassador. -
Content ArticleIn this article, Victoria Lavin discusses her experience of having breast cancer, chemotherapy and a new understanding from a patients point of view.
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In this opinion piece, Becky Tatum discusses how genetic profiling of patient's tumours can lead to more personalised cancer therapy/treatment options with better outcomes. -
Content ArticleYvonne Ormston shares her experience of dealing with Covid as the CEO of Gateshead Health FT and her own cancer journey during the pandemic. Published in HSJ.
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Using evidence to design cancer care facilities (2020)
Becky T posted an article in Facilities
This article, published in the American Journal of Medical Quality, explores how cancer facilities should be conceived and constructed on the basis of evidence-based design thinking and implementation. The nuts and bolts of planning and designing cancer care facilities—the physical space, the social systems, the clinical and nonclinical workflows, and all of the patient-facing services—directly influence the quality of clinical care and the overall patient experience. -
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Cervical cancer symptoms (Jo's Cervical Cancer Trust)
Patient Safety Learning posted an article in Women's health
Cervical cancer symptoms include vaginal bleeding that is unusual for you, changes to vaginal discharge, discomfort during sex and pain in your lower back or pelvis. If you have symptoms, you should contact your GP. -
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The less survivable cancers: symptoms and key facts
Patient Safety Learning posted an article in Cancers
Today, 11 January 2022, the Less Survivable Cancers Taskforce (LSCT) launches its first ever Less Survivable Cancers Awareness Day, to raise the profile of these cancers and to highlight the critical importance of early diagnosis in improving survival. -
Content ArticleSerena Roberts died as the result of an ovarian cancer which was not diagnosed until her death. She was initially seen for an ultrasound scan in April 2020 having reported symptoms of recurrent very heavy vaginal bleeding, and had been recommended to be referred to a gynaecologist for review but was not referred. In November 2020 her GP marked her referral letter as urgent, but this was entered as routine on the e-referral system and did not include important risk factor details regarding her BMI. Her condition worsened and on her second admission to hospital in March 2021 she died. The Coroner in her report highlights concerns about significant delays in patients being seen in secondary care for gynaecological referrals from GPs, the understanding and application of NICE guidance on heavy premenstrual bleeding in General Practice and the documentation and processes relating to referrals to secondary care from the GP.
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Content ArticleThis article in the Journal of Minimally Invasive Gynaecology provides an interpretation of the 2014 US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) statement on power morcellation, a gynaecological procedure in which a device is used to slice up fibroid tissue for extraction through small incisions. Although use of power morcellation makes surgery less invasive, it has been shown to spread cancer if it exists within the patient's tissues. This article looks at the legal impact of the FDA statement, which warns against using laparoscopic power morcellators in the majority of women undergoing hysterectomy or myomectomy for uterine fibroids.
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Content ArticleThis guide by The Eve Appeal and The Survivors Trust outlines some simple actions healthcare professionals can take to make cervical screening appointments easier for patients and service-users who are survivors of rape or sexual abuse. It is part of the #CheckWithMeFirst campaign to help raise awareness of the challenges survivors of rape, sexual abuse and sexual violence may face when accessing cervical screening. They have also produced a cervical screening guide for survivors of rape, sexual abuse or assault, which can be found on the hub here.
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Content ArticleThis training video illustrates guidance from the Department of Health on safe administration of intrathecal medications.
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NHSE's Core20PLUS5 – An approach to reducing health inequalities
Sam posted an article in Health inequalities
Core20PLUS5 is a national NHS England and NHS Improvement approach to support the reduction of health inequalities at both national and system level. The approach defines a target population cohort – the ‘Core20PLUS’ – and identifies ‘5’ focus clinical areas requiring accelerated improvement. Supporting information about Core20PLUS5 -
Content ArticlePatient safety is an integral component of high-quality and effective medical care. The stakes are especially high in oncology, where avoiding errors is imperative to delivering safe and effective radiation therapy, chemotherapy, and other high-risk treatments. Changing paradigms in cancer treatment, including oral chemotherapy, personalised medicine, biosimilars, and immunotherapy, create evolving safety challenges for the oncology community. Moreover, shifting federal healthcare policies could have significant implications for the safety and access to high-quality and effective cancer care for millions of patients with cancer. Challenges and opportunities in ensuring patient access to safe, affordable, and high-quality cancer care remain significant within the policy landscape. To explore current patient safety and access issues in oncology, the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) convened the NCCN Policy Summit: Ensuring Safety and Access in Cancer Care in Washington, DC, on June 15, 2017. Oncology stakeholders gathered to discuss pertinent patient safety issues and access implications under the Trump administration, as well as policy and advocacy strategies to address these gaps and build on opportunities moving forward. The programme consisted of presentations and two roundtable discussions with vigorous dialogue and audience comments and questions.
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