Your health care team
Your treatment team will be made up of health professionals who care for people having surgery for cancer. Some of these are listed below. You will also see other health professionals who specialise in diagnosing and treating the type of cancer you have.
The different roles
The health professionals involved in your treatment will take a team-based approach and form a multidisciplinary team (MDT). The following health professionals may be in your MDT.
Some of the health professionals you may see include:
- surgeon/surgical oncologist – a doctor who specialises in the surgical treatment of cancer
- anaesthetist – a doctor who administers anaesthetic before surgery and monitors patients during the operation
- cancer care coordinator or clinical nurse consultant – coordinates your care, liaises with other members of the MDT and supports your family throughout treatment
- nurses – administer drugs and provide care, information and support throughout your treatment
- social worker, psychologist – link you to helpful services and provide emotional support to you and your family
- dietitian – recommends an eating plan to follow when you’re in treatment and recovery
- physiotherapist – helps you to move and exercise safely to regain strength, fitness and mobility
- occupational therapist – offers equipment/aids and advice about getting back to your daily activities
- general practitioner (GP) – provides follow-up care after surgery.
Other help is available in certain situations – for instance, if you will require a stoma, a stomal therapy nurse will give you specialised information and support.
This information was last reviewed in April 2016
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