Establishing a nurse-led thyroid cancer follow-up clinic

Fishburn, A; Fishburn, N

Abstract

Thyroid cancer is a complex disease requiring management by a large multidisciplinary team. The number of patients with a diagnosis of thyroid cancer is significantly increasing year-on-year, and traditional models of consultant-led follow up are no longer sustainable. Although nurse-led cancer follow-up clinics are becomining increasingly common, thyroid cancer nurse-led follow-up clinics are rare. An excellent understanding of the disease, treatment and management of risk of disease recurrence is essential for safe patient care, and is discussed in this article. The clinic discussed uses the skill set of head and neck nurse specialists, including psychological support, coping strategies for long-term side effects of treatment and non-medical prescribing. A patient survey of the service revealed high levels of patient satisfaction and a desire to continue face-to-face consultations rather than telephone clinics.

Citation

Fishburn, A., & Fishburn, N. (2021). Establishing a nurse-led thyroid cancer follow-up clinic. British Journal of Nursing, 30(4), S28-S35. https://doi.org/10.12968/bjon.2021.30.4.s28

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jan 1, 2021
• Online Publication Date: Feb 27, 2021
• Publication Date: Feb 25, 2021
• Deposit Date: Apr 14, 2021
• Publicly Available Date: Aug 27, 2021
• Journal: British Journal of Nursing
• Print ISSN: 0966-0461
• Electronic ISSN: 2052-2819
• Publisher: MA Healthcare
• Volume: 30
• Issue: 4
• Pages: S28-S35
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.12968/bjon.2021.30.4.s28
• Publisher URL: https://doi.org/10.12968/bjon.2021.30.4.S28
• Related Public URLs: https://www.magonlinelibrary.com/loi/bjon
• Additional Information: Additional Information : ** From Crossref journal articles via Jisc Publications Router **Journal IDs: pissn 0966-0461; eissn 2052-2819 **History: issued 25-02-2021; published 25-02-2021; Access Information : This document is the Accepted Manuscript version of a Published Work that appeared in final form in British Journal of Nursing, copyright © MA Healthcare, after peer review and technical editing by the publisher. To access the final edited and published work see https://doi.org/10.12968/bjon.2021.30.4.S28