Have you had a good experience with your lung cancer nurse specialist?

LorraineDAdministrator•

We know that access to a lung cancer nurse can make a real difference when you are going through treatment. So this year we have launched 3 awards to acknowledge CNS's who have shown care, support and commitment to their patients.

If you would like to recommend your nurse entry forms can be found by pasting this in your web browser:

roycastle.org/get-involved/...

We would be interested in hearing all your views on what makes good support and any suggestions for improvements in practice.

best wishes

Lorraine

on behalf of the Information & Support team

Freephone 0333 323 7200 option 2

email info@roycastle.org

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Lung cancer

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WhiteHartLeanne

4 years ago

Apologies if I seem oblivious to all this - my Dad was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer (it has spread to his liver and glands) in July. He's currently just over half way through chemo and although his GP was terrible, the care since has been excellent. But this is on the chemo ward, that's the only place we see anyone other than his consultant or blood tests/transfusions. He was introduced to a lung cancer nurse at the beginning, but we've not seen her since that initial meeting - is this normal? Neither have we been given timescales (other than maybe a year if we're lucky) or told which type it is - although we were told he's responded marvelously to chemo which may give him an extra few months. Targeted therapies/trials haven't been dicussed with us either. I'm now really worried after reading all this that we've not received the right info etc. I'd be really appreciative of any help, please?

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LorraineDAdministrator

in reply to WhiteHartLeanne

4 years ago

Hello Leanne

Sorry to hear about the situation with your dad, it can be a lot to take in. I am glad to hear he has had good care during his chemo and has responded well to this treatment. Sometimes if someone is in regular contact with the Chemo nurse then they may not see their lung nurse for a while. At any stage you should be able to ask to speak to her to discuss your dad's care.

When someone is diagnosed with lung cancer they will look at a range of tests such as chest X-ray, CT or MRI scan to see how the cancer is behaving. Ideally they will also try and get a sample of the tumour tissue to find out more about the particular type of cancer. This will depend on where the tumour is within the lungs and how well the person is; so this may be an explanation if your dad did not have a broncoscopy or other lung biopsy. Sometimes, for example if the tumour is too close the heart, it is not safe to perform this test.

Giving timescales for someone can be useful but also quite distressing. Timescales are created from the average experience of a group of patients in a similar situation, they are only a guide and people can vary widely from average.

I am not sure if you have received our"Living with Lung Cancer" pack it may offer information on some of your questions. We can send you a copy or help with any specific queries on our helpline Freephone 0333 323 7200 option 2. I would also suggest a call to the Lung Cancer Nurse to discuss what next for your dad.

I hope this information helps, do give us a call if you want to talk or get any additional information,

best wishes

Lorraine

@Roy Castle