Rehabilitation is a vital component in the care of people living with and beyond cancer and is key to delivering personalised care. Cancer rehabilitation provides a range of benefits for the wider healthcare economy, but more needs to be done to raise the profile and awareness of cancer rehabilitation in London. In 2016, TCST conducted a scoping exercise that informed a three year Macmillan Cancer Support funded programme providing a strategic view of cancer rehabilitation in the capital.

As professionals, we know that cancer impacts on people in many ways including physically, emotionally, spiritually and financially. Luckily, there is lots that can be done to help people cope with the consequences of cancer treatment and improve their quality of life, but we know that people do not always get the care that they need in a timely manner or close to their homes.

Furthermore, there is no existing database of cancer rehabilitation metrics that can support the needs of commissioners in London and help inform their decision making. Commissioners are having to make decisions without adequate data on what services are available locally, who is using them and how often, what the impact and benefits of those services are, and what services are needed to fulfill unmet needs.

Read more: Dealing with the impact of treatment: a spotlight on cancer rehabilitation in London

Guidance and resources

• Integrated Care System guidance for Cancer Rehabilitation (2019)
• London case studies: Giving cancer rehabilitation the profile it deserves and needs (2019)
• Mapping of pan London cancer rehabilitation services (2019)
• Patient perspective on cancer rehabilitation (2019)
• Service improvement tools (self assessment and patient questionnaire) (2018)
• Cancer rehabilitation data recommendation report (2017)
• Cancer rehabilitation: A scoping report for London (2017)

Conferences

TCST’s cancer rehabilitation guidance was launched in 2020. The team presented their work at the European Cancer Rehabilitation & Survivorship Symposium (ECRSS) in 2018. Poster presentations include:

• Robb KA et al (2018), “Developing guidance and tools to improve cancer rehabilitation in London”, ECRSS, Copenhagen, Denmark
• Wiley G et al (2018), “Development of an innovative service improvement tool for cancer rehabilitation services”, ECRSS, Copenhagen, Denmark
• Wiley G et al (2018), “What does good cancer rehabilitation look like? Shining light on what matters to those with lived experience”, ECRSS, Copenhagen, Denmark