Do you get to spend as much time with your Clin... - My Ovacome
Do you get to spend as much time with your Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS) as you would like?
Please select one:
Having treatment at three different hospitals (as required during illness) meant being introduced to 3 separate nurses which seems a bit daft and a waste of time and resources. They were all very different! Overall I can't say I have found them to be especially helpful but then I have been very lucky with the support of family and friends.
I have been very lucky and also grateful for all that the oncologist nurses at Exeter Hospital have offered me. The two of them work very well together, they have gained my trust. I can ring them up and leave a message on their phone, they are sure to ring me back. I can talk to them about any problems and dilemmas, they will listen carefully. They are very supportive and practical. I'm really thankful for all their assistance.
Niobe
I do not actually need much attention at present!
I answered based on my past experience - I always felt like I was bothering her and she was harrassed a lot of the time. I no longer make contact as I have no need at present.
My Oncology told me she would be there every step of the way, I have only seen her once since then, and that was very brief.
Just feel im a nuisance, as i dont think i should ask for advice after i decided against the chemo. I do feel i want help but too scared to ask. Im on high alert most of the time with fear.
I meet my nurse specialist at the chemo sessions and have email contact which I find really good.
There are 3 usually - one does home visiting in my area - I am very rural and out of the way. So find the phone or email good and she will call out if I feel the need.
I met the CNS immediately after my first meeting with the surgeon and again after getting my results after surgery. She was very helpful. After that I think I phoned her once or twice. She was available on each occasion and able to answer my questions.
I'm now in remission and not needing to contact her.
I had my treatment at Belfast City Hospital.
While we found her very nice we also felt she assumed too much. We would ask her a question and would get a long winded reply that assumed we were particularly worried about something when really we just wanted to learn about he condition. We tend to avoid asking her anything anymore preferring to speak to others in a similar situation. That's what makes health unlocked invaluable to us.
This may be hard to believe.but I met my clinical nurse once and that is when I was diagnosed and have never seen her again!That was 4 yrs. ago. Apparently there is only a few to cover all ovarian cancer sufferers and they dont have the time!!
She said she came to see me after surgery. I cannot remember, I was in too much pain. I spoke to her a couple of times of the phone. She seemed to be in the same orbit as Penny (oncologist) and Theo (surgeon). Seemed OK. But I departed for climes anew... Hospital is Castle Hill, Hull. I felt like I was dismissed as hopeless...
This might seem libellous. But I have my notes. And HO complaint response. I am OK to be sued by CHH/HER NHS Trust...
I feel very lucky , I saw mine throughout treatment and know I can ring her if I need too. I have rang a couple of times over the past year and she has always been really helpful , dy x
I can ring anytime, I leave a message as she is usually in clinic and I have seen her a few times in clinic. She always returns my calls and mostly on the same day. If I have a query I can rely on her to get me the answer. She is worth her weight in gold
Chris x
Hi All
I'm new here, and just doing a lot of reading. As I found the poll, I answered and was asked to leave a comment as I clicked 'other'.
My comment is more of a question. What, or who, is a CNS? I've never been told about one. I've seen a different person every time I've been to the hospital for my bloods/chemo and was given a telephone number to ring should I feel ill at anytime. That's it really.
Love to all on this journey. xxx
Iv only met my CNS nurse in clinic appointments- maybe because i was only 2b serous borderline she may have had more serious case patients to deal with? not sure really, but at the time i have never felt so lonely in all my life and just wanted someone to tell me the facts face to face.. I could understand that surgeons are there to operate and not commiserate but in the 2 months from diagnosis to operation i would have dearly loved someone just to explain to me what was going on 
i was so scared, but my family took it really badly so I felt I had to 'hold them up and together') I didn't know about Overcome then, I just thought everyone who got this died. Now i just feel angry and want to change things for other women who have yet to receive this devastating diagnosis and say 'there is hope- there are trials, drugs, treatments and most importantly women who are sharing this journey and can tell you first hand everything you want to know' I may be a small fish in a big pond but i just wish more than anything that at that time i hadn't had to feel like i was the only fish in the big pond xx
My clinical support nurse kept a very low profile whilst I was in hospital,even though I was in intensive care, and subsequently re admitted with complications.
The only time I saw her was when she stool round my bed with the big wigs holding her clip board. She was of no support to me although I did not need her as the nursing staff were truly amazing
I voted in this a few days ago as " never met her" which was true at the time. But since then I have a) discovered by asking the hospital receptionist that I do have a CNS. B) on the back of my green chemo card is her name and telephone number - I'd never looked there and no-one pointed it out. And c) have phoned on three occasions since and found her, and her colleague incredibly empathetic and helpful. So I'm afraid the above pie chart symbol is a tiny bit screwed by me, unintentionally. Alex.
I have I only seen her twice when she accompanied my consultant on his rounds.she has been of no support to me at a time when I was in desperate need.
Sadly there is a lack of CNS in the private sector.
I only see mine when I visit the ONC. Never outside of that so I've met her 5/7 times and have had around a total of 10 mins conversation with her in 3 years.
Good information about treatment option
I have treatment every three weeks and sometimes I will see the nurses in normal clothing who ask me about the trial I am on and I fill in forms, but apart from the three monthly check up visits to my Oncologist I rarely get to talk to anyone. Sometimes I wish I could as I do feel down on times. I do get a lot of comfort from Maggies who have the nicest people on earth, they are so caring and have a lot of time for you.
I have an oncology nurse. Is this the same person? If it is just in touch by ohone
Have met her once or twice but always in a rush and didn't,t do what she said, not helpful really
I was diagnosed following a gynae admission 12 months ago. During this admission I was treated by the general gynae specialist nurse and the specialist pain nurse. However once I was passed to oncology my specialist nurse support ceased although my need for the help did not.
My CNS made a couple of gaffes when I was first diagnosed. Although I did not make any comment or show my displeasure, I do not see sight or sound of her.
I have been really fortunate with my specialist nurse. If I leave a message she usually gets back to me the same day. The hospital I am with is in special measures and the pressure on her I am sure has been huge but she has always been professional and most of all caring and warm .
Dee
Don't know what that is, trying to get information is like pulling teeth!
My CNS has been a godsend - she is extremely busy but always gets back to me when she can. She knows her stuff, & if she doesn't know something, she'll always say she'll ask someone else, look it up or ask me to contact someone else in the team, e.g. Registrar. This has given me a lot of confidence in her. Having a cancer diagnosis has meant that I sometimes have huge fear & anxiety & having someone in the team who's consistent & trustworthy (I've been given incorrect info on occasion by others) has made an enormous difference to me.
She hasn't been as helpful as the daycare and palliative team so have a better relationship with them than her.
When I was diagnosed in July 2016 she told me we would be seeing a lot of each other in the next 6 months following surgery and chemo. Never seen her since and had one phone call from her in Sept asking how I felt after my first chemo, I have just had number four! Bit disappointing.
Try to contact but always on study time or holiday. Sometimes does not ring back for days after. Always busy
I'm having private Chemotherapy and wonder if I'm actually missing out. I have different nurses each time I go for my treatment, and feel it makes a difference. Two of them are great and I've really appreciated their care, but some of them are less experienced, and have made me feel quite nervous as they faff around and don't seem to know what they are doing.
You're always going to get some nurses with more experience than others. They learn from each other. In my chemo experience you tend not to get the same one on each occasion though on a busy ward you'll get to say hi to them.
The CNS is a specific role supporting the patient and their care rather than dispensing it.
Perhaps you are missing out.
