Macmillan Skin Cancer Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS)

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Who are we?

We are a team of Macmillan Clinical Nurse Specialists (CNS) who are registered nurses and a Cancer Support Worker, specialising in skin cancer.

The CNS is here to provide supportive care and advice about your particular type of cancer. This remains throughout the pathway of your care from diagnosis, treatment and on-going surveillance over a period of up to five years or until you are discharged back to your GP.

We can offer guidance and support from diagnosis and throughout the course of your treatment and on-going aftercare, and symptom control.

When will I see a CNS?

The diagnosis and subsequent treatment of Skin Cancer can have an emotional effect on people. Please contact us if you need to discuss these feelings. We can refer you to our counselling services.

We have a helpline for you to contact at any time via telephone or email. We are also available to your family and carers.

We can answer your questions and provide expert advice on Skin cancer and treatments. However if you are on treatment such as immunotherapy or radiotherapy you must contact the chemotherapy nurses about treatment plans or queries and side effects.

We can ensure you are in touch with the right people and access the right services for you. For example, dietician, psychologist, Citizens Advice Bureau or community support.

Unfortunately we cannot visit people at home.

What is a Macmillan Cancer Support Worker and how can they help?

The cancer support worker works alongside the CNS and is able to also provide non-medical advice and support.

They are able to look into appointments, such as dates and times of investigations.

They can liaise with other health and social care professionals on your behalf, and can redirect your queries to the appropriate team member.

They can carry out holistic needs assessment (HNA) which will be in the information pack we have given you. This helps you with your concerns and discusses possible solutions. This takes about 20 minutes to complete and will help with developing a care plan for yourself and your individual needs. 

This helps to prioritise and highlight your needs or concerns you may have and want to talk about. These may be physical, emotional, practical, financial or spiritual.

Who else is involved in my care and treatment?

We are part of the multi-disciplinary team (MDT) and will be able to liaise with other professionals in the team on your behalf. We meet on a weekly basis (generally Tuesday mornings).

The MDT are:

• Dermatologist
• Oncologists
• Nurses
• Radiologists
• Pathologists
• Cancer Co-Ordinator
• Surgeons and Plastic surgeons

We work closely together to plan and deliver the most effective treatment and care for each individual patient. We discuss your case and what the next step is within your pathway. This maybe further diagnostic testing, further scans, further surgery, treatment options.

Decisions from the meeting are then discussed with you by doctors or the Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS).

Who can I contact for further information and advice?

Useful Information sites

Also see the following websites:

Melanoma

British Association of Dermatology

Cancer Research

Useful Contact Details