What cancer patients want from the NHS

Matthew Cook - Teenage Cancer Trust Back to top

Matthew Cook is a patient voice at the Teenage Cancer Trust.

• Arriving at a cancer diagnosis is often as difficult as receiving the diagnosis. GPs had suggested he had a hangover, hernia, appendicitis, food allergies and more before he was diagnosed with soft tissue sarcoma. It often takes 4+ visits to get a diagnosis.
• Young people want to be taken seriously so that diagnosis comes early. He would like to see a range of treatments, quality of life and tailored care in an environment appropriate for other young people followed by help with moving on after treatment.

Peter Ford - Prostate Cancer UK Back to top

Peter Ford is a patient voice at Prostate Cancer UK.

• Peter said he was very lucky and was diagnosed with prostate cancer by chance. His biopsy results then took 6 weeks instead of 2. He was given treatment options but no advice. He was lucky to find advice from the charity sector online.
• He would like to see 4 main things:

1. Guidelines from the NHS on what to expect in the cancer journey.
2. Greater awareness of prostate cancer among the public and GPs
3. More specialist nurses
4. Patient feedback to help improve the system.

 

Tim Elliott - Cancer Policy Team, Department of Health Back to top

Tim Elliott is the team leader of the Cancer Policy Team at the Department of Health.

• Key findings from the most recent National Cancer patient Experience Survey (NCPES) were shared. The results were positive overall.
• Information and communication with cancer patients have shown a significant improvement.
• Patients want a named cancer nurse specialist; confidence and trust in doctors and respect and dignity. A key finding is the importance of written information.
• Financial information about benefits is poor and there are variations in experience among different demographics.

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Jeremy Taylor - National Voices Back to top

Jeremy Taylor is Chief Executive at National Voices.

• Cancer patients are among those with the best reported experience of NHS care.
• However, there are variations. Specific areas of concern include non-medical issues such as back to work assistance, information for carers and psychological and emotional support.