What next?
Macmillan East Midlands Teenage and Young Adult Survivorship Service
As a teenage or young adult cancer survivor it is really important that you have the opportunity to discuss and review your cancer treatment in a Long-term follow up clinic provided by the Teenage and Young Adult (TYA) Survivorship Service. You may have come through treatment knowing a lot about it or not much at all but it is recommended you have a safe space to ask any questions you have. The aims of the TYA Survivorship Service are to identify and manage any problems caused by your cancer or its treatment to ensure you have the best possible quality of life.
You will continue to see your medical team for routine follow up appointments, how often you need to be seen at the hospital will depend on several factors. These include the type of cancer you had and the treatment you received.
Teenage and Young Adult Survivorship Clinic
At the end of treatment you will be invited into a Survivorship clinic appointment, this will either be at the hospital or in a telephone clinic. Often it is only after all your treatment has ended that you can start to take stock of how your life has been affected by your diagnosis and treatment. This can be a challenging time emotionally as well as practically rebuilding your life to where you want it to be, the Survivorship Service supports you with this.
We will talk to you about your treatment, signs & symptoms to look out for and who to contact if you are concerned. We will discuss ongoing tests and follow up appointments with you and provide you with instructions for your G.P and other professionals you may need support from. Survivorship clinic appointments continue for the duration of your medical follow up, which is often 5 years.
Teenage and Young Adult Late Effects Service
The TYA Late effects service provides patient initiated lifelong follow up of any late effects of treatment. Late effects can be described as a condition that appears after treatment. A late effect can be caused directly by the cancer or by the treatment.
Teenage and Young Adult Self-Managed Care Clinic
After the five years post treatment you will be transitioned in to the TYA Self-managed care clinic which is where the Clinical Nurse Specialist will carry out an assessment and make a referral to your local hospital late effects service. It is important that you understand what Late Effects are, how to reduce the risk of developing late effects, how to monitor for late effects and what to do if you suspect you have a late effect. This will be provided through the Self-managed Care Clinic.
What do I need to know?
The end of treatment can raise a lot of questions, have a look at the sub sections on the right containing information and resources to try and help answer some of your questions you have about life after treatment
Contact details:
Laura Cutler - Macmillan Clinical Nurse Specialist for Long Term Survivors of Teenage and Young Adult Cancer - 07812269998
