UKONS 2017 | Reducing late symptom reporting: a holistic approach in cancer nursing

It is critical that cancer patients report the side effects of their treatments, whether chemotherapy or immunotherapy, as early as possible to avoid the worsening of illness and further complications. However, there have been many reports of patients delaying reporting the side effects of treatment to their care team. Speaking from the UK Oncology Nursing Society (UKONS) Annual Conference 2017, in Harrogate, UK, Catherine Oakley, PhD, of Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK, discusses why this may be the case and how to combat it, highlighting the importance of a holistic approach to nursing, in order to make patients more comfortable in reporting symptoms early.