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Showing results for tags 'Medicine - Oncology'.
Found 77 results
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Content ArticlePancreatic cancer is the fifth most common cause of cancer death in the UK, with an annual incidence of nearly 9,600. On average, 23 people die each day from the disease. The UK has one of the worst survival rates in Europe, with average life expectancy on diagnosis just 4 to 6 months and a relative survival to 1 year of approximately 20%. Only 3% of people survive for 5 years or longer. This figure has not improved much in over 40 years, and it is not yet clear how the more recent trend of increased surgery and adjuvant chemotherapy will affect survival. There are often delays in access to diagnosis and treatment and this NICE guideline will help to improve this.
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Content ArticleMr B was 71 years' old and was undergoing treatment for cancer of the oesophagus. During surgery, a nasogastric tube that had been inserted became dislodged and was put back into place by medical staff, despite guidelines against this. The family realised that something had gone wrong in the operation and Mr B became very seriously ill, dying five months later. When the family asked the hospital for an investigation, they revealed that a hole had been made in Mr B’s stomach when the nasogastric tube was replaced. There was no assurance given that steps would be taken to prevent similar errors in the future, and no apology from the hospital. The family sought legal advice and came to an out of court settlement with the hospital.
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Content ArticleWith A&E and ambulance waiting times dominating the headlines and over 6.7 million people waiting for elective surgery, prevention can unfortunately fall down the priority list. But cancer screening helps pick up cancers at an earlier and more treatable stage, improving survival rates and lessening pressure on the NHS in the long run. It is therefore important that it is not forgotten in the face of seemingly more urgent demands.
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Content ArticleAuthors of this study, published in Radiology, noted that mammography was more effective at finding breast cancer in high-risk men than in women at average risk of breast cancer. For every 1,000 mammograms done in high-risk men, 18 breast cancers were found. In comparison, five breast cancers are found for every 1,000 mammograms in average-risk women. They concluded that there is potential benefit in screening men at high risk for developing breast cancer.
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Content ArticleIn March, the charity Breast Cancer Now asked people with breast cancer to tell us how coronavirus had affected their treatment and care. 580 people responded. Many reported that they or their loved ones had experienced delays or cancellations to treatment and monitoring scans. Others had not experienced any changes to their treatment. To understand how people’s experiences may have changed and try to better quantify some of the impacts, Breast Cancer Now ran a second survey between 9 July and 6 August. 2,124 people with breast cancer responded. They also spoke to 12 healthcare professionals from different parts of the breast cancer pathway including radiographers, surgeons, oncologists specialising in drug treatment and radiotherapy, and clinical nurse specialists. This was supplemented by data available on the impact of the pandemic, for example on referrals to see a specialist. This report sets out their findings and recommendations for what needs to happen next to tackle the challenges identified. The content is split into four sections: Diagnosis Treatment Clinical trials and research Care and support.
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Content ArticleThe UKONS Telephone Triage Tool Kit outlines a clear symptom based, RAG rated ( RED, AMBER, GREEN) risk assessment process. It is used for telephone triage of patients who: have received or are receiving systemic anticancer therapy have received any other type of anticancer treatment, including radiotherapy and bone marrow graft/transplant may be suffering from disease-/treatment-related immunosuppression. The UKONS tool is evidence based and has been piloted and evaluated positively. It can be used by almost all, regardless of skill level or experience, and identifies patients at risk and advises action according to the level of risk.
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Content ArticleDelivering world-class cancer research is at the heart of what they do at The Christie. Developing new treatments to improve outcomes for patients is one of their key priorities. They lead research into innovative techniques such as using DNA to personalise treatment and to help people’s immune systems fight cancer and there are more than 650 clinical research studies and trials running at any given time. The Christie have internationally recognised expertise in cancer research. Their research makes a difference for people living with cancer and their friends and families. Cancer research expertise at The Christie includes: running research studies and trials across all types of cancer delivering the highest quality clinical trials identifying appropriate research participants and involving them in the right research studies providing an excellent service and patient support Watch Professor John Radford's video explaining the importance of research at The Christie
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Content Article
Children with Cancer: A day in the life Laraib
Claire Cox posted an article in By patients and public
Children with Cancer UK is a charity whose mission is to improve survival rates and the quality of survival in young cancer patients, and to find ways to prevent cancer in the future. They fund groundbreaking research to help children with cancer. They,raise awareness to inspire others to help, and they support families with our welfare projects. In these videos, follow Laraib, an inspiring child diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL), through a 24-hour window into her life. Understand what it means to be a child living with cancer and learn about the vast support network that’s needed to care for those affected by the disease. -
Content Article
Improving safety for oncology healthcare workers and patients
Claire Cox posted an article in Cancers
Philippa Jones, past head of acute oncology, speaks to ecancer at UKONS 2019 in Telford about safety with regards to not only patients, carers and families but also healthcare workers. She explains that measures include appropriate training, qualifications and understanding of treatments so that they can give good advice and support to patients. Philippa highlights some training resources, guidelines and development opportunities for nurses and other healthcare workers. -
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Improvements in patient safety: Encouraging patient-reporting of symptoms
Claire Cox posted an article in Cancers
Dr Catherine Oakley speaks to ecancer at the 2019 UKONS meeting in Telford about the recognition of patient symptoms during treatment. She explains some of the issues that patients face during treatment and why they may be hesitant in reporting their symptoms. Dr Oakley states that the Cancer Research UK patient treatment guide, which has been based on the UKONS triage tool can be used to help patients manage their treatments. -
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Primary care cancer toolkit
Claire Cox posted an article in Cancers
This Primary Care Cancer Toolkit provides a collection of key resources about cancer prevention, diagnosis and care relevant for the primary care setting. It provides links to current guidance, continuing professional development resources, patient information, and information for those involved in commissioning. -
Content ArticleWorld Cancer Day every 4 February is the global uniting initiative led by the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC). By raising worldwide awareness, improving education and catalysing personal, collective and government action, people are working together to reimagine a world where millions of preventable cancer deaths are saved and access to life-saving cancer treatment and care is equal for all – no matter who you are or where you live. Created in 2000, World Cancer Day has grown into a positive movement for everyone, everywhere to unite under one voice to face one of our greatest challenges in history. Each year, hundreds of activities and events take place around the world, gathering communities, organisations and individuals in schools, businesses, hospitals, marketplaces, parks, community halls, places of worship – in the streets and online – acting as a powerful reminder that we all have a role to play in reducing the global impact of cancer. This year's World Cancer Day's theme, 'I Am and I Will', is all about you and your commitment to act. Through positive actions, together we can reach the target of reducing the number of premature deaths from cancer and noncommunicable diseases by one third by 2030.
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Content ArticleA communication passport is a way of supporting a vulnerable person with communication difficulties when they have to transition through different events, such as changing schools, or their first job. Ryan’s family made a specific communication passport for his medical file so that all the medical professionals could learn a little about Ryan before they met him and therefore be better prepared and able to interact with him. Here, his mum shares their example to illustrate how it can be used to improve quality of care.
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Content ArticleAs a cancer professional, there can sometimes be barriers to engaging patients and carers in your work. This film, made by a group of people affected by cancer working with professionals, highlights some top tips to help you get started.
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Content ArticleThere are few validated tools to identify treatment‐related adverse events across cancer care settings. This study seeks to develop oncology‐specific 'triggers' to flag potential adverse events among cancer patients using claims data.
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Content Article
Improving cancer patient safety within the emergency department
Martin Hogan posted an article in Cancers
I'm Martin. In this blog I want to talk about my role as a Macmillan acute oncology clinical nurse specialist (CNS) and what our team has done to improve patient safety within the acute ward of our hospitals. Coming from a non-oncology background there was a lot to learn when I moved into acute oncology. My background was mainly acute cardiac and respiratory, but this allowed me to notice how powerful and time effective the presence of an acute oncology CNS could be in improving cancer patient safety within the emergency department. -
Content Article
Review of national cancer screening programmes in England
Patient Safety Learning posted an article in Cancers
Leading expert Professor Sir Mike Richards was jointly commissioned by NHS chief executive Simon Stevens and Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock to make recommendations on overhauling national screening programmes, as part of a new NHS drive for earlier diagnosis and improved cancer survival. -
Content Article
HQCA: Patient Experience Awards 2019
Patient Safety Learning posted an article in Implementation of improvements
For the fourth year, the Health Quality Council of Alberta (HQCA), in partnership with the Patient and Family Advisory Committee (PFAC), held the Patient Experience Awards programme to recognise and help spread knowledge about initiatives that improve the patient experience in accessing and receiving healthcare services in Alberta, Canada. Applications spanned all corners of the province and came from a wide variety of care settings, and ranged from “elegantly simple” to complex in nature. The initiatives described reflected the diverse healthcare needs of Albertans and were equally diverse in their approach to healthcare improvement. However, they all had one thing in common: A desire to make change and deliver a better patient and family member experience. -
Content ArticleThe Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) was set up by Parliament to provide an independent complaint handling service for complaints that have not been resolved by the NHS in England and UK government departments. This report look at how a man died after excessive wait for cancer treatment.
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Content Article
Patient Stories: Paul's Story (10 March 2013)
Claire Cox posted an article in Patient stories
In 2007, when Paul Richards was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma, his family were stunned by the news. This powerful film from Patient Stories is based on the testimony of Lisa, Paul’s wife, who gives a moving account of the events that led to Paul’s death and explores the effects on their family. -
Content ArticleThe purpose of this study was to describe patient engagement as a safety strategy from the perspective of hospitalised surgical patients with cancer.
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Content ArticleAs cancer care becomes inundated with cutting edge and novel treatments, such as personalised medicine, oral chemotherapy, biosimilars, and immunotherapy, new safety challenges are emerging at increasing speed and complexity.
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Content ArticleThe lack of follow-up or communication of unexpected significant findings can have a serious or life-threatening impact on patients. This was seen in the reference case that informed this Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch (HSIB) investigation. In this event, a 76-year old woman had a chest X-ray showing a possible lung cancer which was not followed up and resulted in a delayed diagnosis. The patient died just over two months after her diagnosis.
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Content ArticleThis study, published in the British Medical Journal, found that current algorithm based smartphone apps cannot be relied on to detect all cases of melanoma or other skin cancers. Test performance is likely to be poorer than reported here when used in clinically relevant populations and by the intended users of the apps. The current regulatory process for awarding the CE (Conformit Europenne) marking for algorithm based apps does not provide adequate protection to the public.
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Content ArticleThe Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Ms Nadine Dorries, responds to the Paterson Inquiry in the House of Commons. It is followed by questions from MPs in the chamber and Ms Dorries' responses.
