Are you worried about cancer and want to understand more?
You might be worried about a possible cancer diagnosis or symptoms you are experiencing, or somebody close to you has been told they have cancer.
To find out more, visit https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/cancer.
We know that if cancer is detected early, it’s much more likely to be treated effectively and treatment can be less intense. The NHS national screening programme invites healthy adults with no symptoms for regular screening tests for three cancer types; breast, bowel and cervical.
To find out more, visit https://www.england.nhs.uk/cancer/early-diagnosis/screening-and-earlier-diagnosis.
Since Autumn 2019 the NHS has offered a new service called Lung Service Health Check in some areas of England, the East of England is one of the areas taking part in the Targeted Lung Health Check Service (TLHC).
To find out more, visit https://eoelunghealthcheck.nhs.uk.
Your GP can make an urgent suspected cancer referral if you are experiencing symptoms that could suggest that you may have cancer.
It’s normal to worry when you are urgently referred to see a specialist by your GP, nurse or dentist. However, more than nine out of every ten people (more than 90%) referred this way will not be diagnosed with cancer.
To find out more about the process of being referred to a hospital specialist, visit https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/cancer-symptoms/what-is-an-urgent-referral.
There are specific services we offer to support you if you have been diagnosed with cancer - navigate the sections below to find out more:
Our cancer information and support services are located at each of our main hospital sites, and anybody affected by cancer can get in contact. You can speak to a specialist cancer nurse or trained volunteer.
To find out more, visit our Macmillan cancer information and support service page.
It’s important to realise there is no right or wrong way of dealing with a diagnosis of cancer and the feelings you might experience.
To find out more about what kind of support there is out there for you, visit our Emotional and financial wellbeing page.
Once a tumour site has been identified, you will then be looked after by a specialist team. We cater for the following areas of cancer.
To find out more, visit Your confirmed diagnosis page.
When a person is diagnosed with cancer that has spread within the body (metastatic cancer), the primary site - the place in the body where the cancer started - is not always obvious.
To find out more, visit Cancer of unknown primary service (CUP).
Children's cancers can be quite different from cancers affecting adults and tend to occur in different parts of the body to adult cancers. They also look different under the microscope and respond differently to treatment.
To find out more about what we offer, visit Paediatric oncology.
Our teenage and young adult service offers specialist, age-appropriate care to people aged 16 to 24 who have been diagnosed with cancer, living in Mid and South Essex.
To find out more about the support we offer, visit our Teenage and young adults and cancer page.
Our Acute oncology service (AOS) works with patients who are newly diagnosed with cancer.
To find out more, visit Acute Oncology Service (AOS).
The living with and beyond cancer service is a nurse led service that helps patients to adjust after their cancer treatment.
If you would like to find out more, visit our Living well with cancer page.
Personalised care is based on ‘what matters’ to people and their individual strengths and needs.
To find out more, visit our Personalised care page.
Psychological therapy and support is available to any adult affected by cancer who is being treated at our hospitals and is available to inpatients and outpatients.
To find out more about the services we offer, visit Psychological therapies service for oncology (cancer).
Radiotherapy uses radiation in the form of high energy x-rays to treat cancer. It destroys cancer cells in the area where the radiotherapy is given.
To find out more, visit Radiotherapy.
The end-of-life team care for patients who are in the last few days/weeks of life or imminently dying.
To find out more, visit our End of Life (EOL) page.
Research plays a key part in understanding cancer and different ways we can treat the disease.
To find out more about what studies are going on currently, and how you could get involved, visit Research and development at mid and south Essex hospitals.
Our Chemotherapy Day Units (CDU) administrates drug treatments such as chemotherapy, immunotherapy and targeted therapies in a variety of ways to best suit your treatment.
To find out more, visit Chemotherapy Day Units (CDU).
There are other services that can offer you support with your care, please see these below:
Age UK – https://www.ageuk.org.uk
Cancer research UK - https://www.cancerresearchuk.org
Citizens advice – https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk
Helen Rollason – https://www.helenrollason.org.uk
Marie Curie – https://www.mariecurie.org.uk
Macmillan cancer support – https://www.macmillan.org.uk
Samaritans – https://www.samaritans.org.uk
In order to track patients and record the number of patients we treat with cancer by our Trust, we use a system called the Somerset Cancer Register.
To find out more about this, visit https://digital.nhs.uk/ndrs.