In a recently published update on the performance of the NHS Cancer Programme, NHS England confirmed they have begun trialling methods to track how cancer affects people beyond their medical care. This new ‘quality of life’ metric, which is the first of its kind, will use questionnaires to ask about patients’ daily lives.
This new system is being piloted for breast, colorectal and prostate cancers at a selection of hospitals across the country and over 2,500 patients have been included. In 2020, these four cancers will see a full roll-out of the new metric, with brain tumour patients to be included next.
We expect this will have two main benefits for brain tumour patients and their families.
Firstly, the data collected from patients will help drive improvements in care provision which includes personalised plans for people with cancer outlining not only their physical needs but also other support they may need, such as help at home or financial advice.
Secondly, by measuring just how detrimental brain tumours can be to a patient’s quality of life, it will become clear to NHS England and the Government just how much brain tumours are neglected in comparison with other cancers, both in terms of available treatments and research funding.
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