Last week I attended a Macmillan Cancer Support event and had a fantastic opportunity to promote the Cancer, Older People and Advocacy project to the clinical nurse specialists delivering care every day to older people affected by cancer in Sefton.
Helen Vernon
The event was aimed at people of all ages who were about to undergo or had recently completed treatment. It was an opportunity to show them what support is available to them locally. We were told by the Macmillan team that evaluations from similar events nationally have really helped patients gain more confidence in self-managing the post treatment phase of their cancer.
Cancer, Older People and Advocacy service leaflet
Armed with copies of the new leaflet and the advocacy stories I arrived hoping to raise awareness amongst the health professionals. I was not disappointed and during the three hours that the event took place I was able spend time speaking with the following professionals: Lymphoedema Nurse, Acute Oncology Cancer Nurse Specialist, Palliative Care Nurse Specialist, Lung Cancer Nurse Specialist, Head and Neck Cancer Nurse Specialist, Dermatology Cancer Nurse Specialist, Urology Cancer Nurse Specialist, Colo-rectal Cancer Nurse Special, Medical Day Unit staff and Occupational Therapists.
Almost everyone was unaware of our service but could see immediately the value of it. Several nurses said they had seen someone already that day who would benefit from advocacy.
Helen Vernon, Cancer Advocacy Project, Sefton Pensioners’ Advocacy Centre
Older People Living with Cancer 