Royal Marsdens Cancer Surgery Support
If there is the need to have cancer surgery it is best to have it at a hospital that has an excellent reputation and a good success rate. Royal Marsdens cancer surgery support can make the experience much less frightening than it could be but will give you the full details of what will happen during the operation and what is best to do afterwards. It is more than likely that you will meet with one person on a regular basis but there will be others working behind the scenes.
Royal Marsden Cancer Surgery Support Information
There is no possibility that this surgery can be carried out outside a hospital. If you are lucky it may end up just being for a day but it is more likely than not that you will have to stay in much longer and it is likely that you will have already had a number of visits for tests and pre op assessments. It is also highly unlikely that you will not be knocked out and therefore there will be the need for an anaesthetist. As a result of this it will not be a case of just having the surgery and then going back to normal as if nothing had happened.,
By the time it comes to surgery it is very likely that you will be fully aware of the extent of the spread of the cancer and whether or not it will be a large or small procedure.
Royal Marsden Cancer Surgery Support Team
Once the cancer has been diagnosed there will be a decision made on how best to treat it. There are some cancers that cannot be treated by surgery but many can and there will be a need to put together a team who are going to carry out the surgery. Many people will be needed and the people making up the Royal Marsden cancer surgery support team will include:-
- a surgeon who specialises in the appropriate cancer
- a medical oncologist (expert in treating cancer with drugs and chemotherapy)
- a clinical oncologist (doctor working with radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy)
- a haematologist (a specialist in treating blood disorders including leukaemia and myelomas)
- a pathologist (analyses tissues once they have been removed)
- a radiologist (uses X-rays to identify and deal with disease)
- a specialist nurse (who provides support and gives advice)
- a specialist nurse to work with the family throughout
- other specialists (pharmacists, physiotherapists)
The team will not break up as soon as the operation has been carried out as the treatment will not necessarily be finished that day. It will not be necessary to meet with every member of the team although there could be meetings with some before and then some later on. Often an anaesthetist will want to explain the procedure to a patient and also make an assessment about them prior to commencing the operation. The Royal Marsden cancer surgery support team will all know what the others are doing and all will have input into your file.