Specialist Nursing
Lung Cancer Specialist Nurse
Sue Longstaff Lung Cancer Specialist at North Tyneside General Hospital
Mesothelioma can be a devastating disease for patients, families and friends. Diagnosis of this disease is often hard to obtain and can take many months of investigations resulting in increased anxiety and distress. The lung cancer nurse can provide support and help in many ways for patients with mesothelioma and their families:
- The lung cancer nurse can support patients throughout the diagnostic stage, providing information, explanation and interpretation of results.
- Patients can often experience symptoms such as pain, shortness of breath and weakness. The lung cancer nurse can help the patient manage these problems effectively.
- The lung cancer nurse works closely with the hospital consultant, lung cancer physiotherapist, Macmillan nurse, health psychologist, district nurse and family doctor ensuring that patients receive the best possible care.
- The lung cancer nurse can provide information about benefits and support groups specifically for mesothelioma patients.
- Being diagnosed with mesothelioma can result in a variety of emotional reactions. Patients and families commonly experience anger, guilt and fear.
- The lung cancer nurse and the other members of the lung cancer team can provide psychological support and advice to those suffering from these difficulties.
The lung cancer nurses, Sue Longstaff and Karen Hurson are based at North Tyneside General Hospital and can be contacted on 0191 2934148.
Macmillan Nurses
Macmillan Nurses are part of a multidisciplinary specialist team who work to care for patients to carers who have life limiting illness and have specialist palliative care needs. The team visit patients in hospitals and residential and nursing homes. They communicate with various teams from hospitals and Centres for Cancer Treatment.
Whilst Macmillan Nurses do not provide “hands on care” their service is complimentary to the patients’ primary carers who remain the patient and family’s regular professional carers. Patients and their families can be transferred with their full consent by GPs, District Nurses, Hospital staff and other specialist teams following the assessment of their needs.
The Macmillan Clinical Nurse Specialist provides both direct and indirect patient and family care. Direct care included advice and support to the patient and families main professional carers giving advice on pain and symptom management. Coping strategies for dealing with breathlessness and rehabilitation are also provided.
Macmillan
