Your Healthcare Team

Role of the Cancer Nurse Specialist

Every man diagnosed with a testicular cancer will be able to access a specialist nurse. They play an important role in the following and can be accessed during diagnosis, active treatment or during the follow up period. It is often easier to contact a specialist nurse than it is your consultant. A specialist nurse can help with the following things:

• Information and education
• Support for patients and their families
• Liaison and referral
• Patient advocate at specialist meetings
• Coordination of the testicular cancer pathway
• Teaching of health professionals
• Health promotion in schools and work places
• Financial support
• Referral to outside bodies

Multi- Disciplinary Team Meeting (MDT)

Every patient diagnosed with a testicular cancer will be discussed at a Multi- Disciplinary Team Meeting. This meeting takes place every other week across the Thames Valley cancer Network. Present at this meeting are the following people:

1. Consultant Oncologist
2. Specialist Registrars
3. Consultant Urologist
4. Pathologist
5. Radiologist
6. Specialist Nurse

Each patient is discussed individually and the pathology results and radiology results will be reviewed. A treatment plan will then be formulated and it will be decided whether you should have one of three options:

1. Surveillance
2. Chemotherapy
3. Radiotherapy

A referral will then be made to the Consultant Oncologist (a Cancer Specialist) who will see you in the Germ Cell Clinic. The Consultant or one of the team i.e. a Specialist Registrar will explain what has been discussed at the meeting and will plan appropriate treatment for you. It is often best to attend at least the initial appointment with a family member or close friend so they can reinforce any information that you may forget after the consultation. There is often quite a lot of information to take in at this appointment.

Nurse Led Telephone Follow Up Clinics in Oxford

As you progress through the five-year follow up programme you may be asked to have telephone follow up rather than attending the germ cell clinic at Oxford or Reading. This clinic is led by the specialist nurse who has a sound knowledge of testicular cancer and its treatment. Some patients prefer to have this type of follow up regime as it means that they don't have to have time off from work and it also saves them time especially when they have outside commitments.

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