PEOPLE living with an advanced cancer diagnosis across St Helens and Knowsley are being urged to take part in a trailblazing study to help improve their quality of life – and also help develop better services for the future.

Staff from Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust are working with Macmillan to develop a sustainable care model for people living with metastatic cancer – often referred to as “advanced stage cancer’’ - where the disease has spread to a different part of the body from where it first started.

Improving the quality of life for metastatic patients, and their carers, has been prioritised as a key area in Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan and the research taking place across St Helens and Knowsley is seen as vital to developing care for the future, locally and across the UK.

Hayley McCaffrey, Macmillan Senior Project Manager, said: “We recently conducted a scoping exercise that highlighted how metastatic patients have different needs to primary cancer patients in respect to treatment, care and symptom management.

“Metastatic patients have several unmet care needs. They have a double burden in many ways due to symptoms associated with multiple tumours, while facing possible heightened emotions due to factors such as a shortened life expectancy, the impact on their independence and the psychological impact of uncertainty.

“In an effort to improve care we are asking for any patients or carers living with metastatic cancer to complete a patient experience questionnaire, so everyone has a voice and feels listened to and empowered to make the changes needed to deliver care that is consistently high quality, well organised, meets best practice standards and provides the best possible experience of healthcare for our patients and their families.

“By completing the questionnaire, you will be the voice of those who are living with metastatic cancer, telling us what you need so we provide care that has the patient at the centre of everything we do.’’

Laura Swift, a Clinical Nurse Specialist working on the project, added: “We really do need the voices of our patients to improve things for the future. It’s what our patients need that matters the most. We need their voice to help us make this change effective.

“We have developed this patient and carers survey and need as many of those living with metastatic cancer to let us know about their experiences so we can move forwards and make the changes that they need.”

All responses and comments will be anonymous so no personal details will be included in feedback received, just your responses and any comments you would like to include.

If you wish to complete the survey electronically, or know someone who would be interested, go to forms.office.com/e/yAif1WMXfU

There is also a carers’ survey at forms.office.com/e/P5jAk7GAkY for anyone who supports a patient to complete.

To contact a member of the team directly please ring 01744 646785 or e-mail TBNCProject@sthk.nhs.uk.