Supporting families with Cancer: A patient centred survivorship model of care

Abstract

In 2011, the Leicestershire Clinical Genetics Department in collaboration with Macmillan Cancer Support initiated a project called Supporting Families with Cancer (SFWC). The project aimed to raise awareness of inherited cancers amongst both healthcare professionals and the general public and develop a patient-centred collaborative approach to cancer treatment and support services. This paper describes the project's development of a range of community outreach events and a training scheme for primary healthcare professionals designed to improve familial cancer referral rates in Leicester. Following consultation with patients and support groups, a series of interactive 'medical supermarket' events were held in Leicester. These events focused on providing patients with a forum for sharing research data, information about diagnosis and treatments and access to support groups and other allied healthcare services with additional information being made available digitally via SFWC webpages and a series of short videos available on a YouTube channel. Qualitative and quantitative data presented here indicate that the SFWC medical supermarket model has been well received by patients and offers a patient-centred, holistic approach to cancer treatment.