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Nurse Specialists
Whilst in our care, patients with oesophago-gastric cancer experience a roller coaster of highs and lows. From the very beginning and throughout their journey with us, patients and their families will be guided and supported by members of the Upper GI Cancer Nurse Specialist team.
Keith Mitchell, pictured right, leads this specialist team, which is there for patients through all stages of diagnosis and treatment, co-ordinates their care and is the link between the patient and the hospital team looking after them.
Keith is there when the patient is informed they have cancer, prepares patients for all stages of treatment, including surgery and chemotherapy, and works closely with the wards and nursing staff to provide a seamless service. Heruns a clinic with the specialist upper GI dietitian and will assist in maintaining the nutritional needs of the patient before and after surgery.
Patients having surgery can meet other patients who have already been through the experience and they, and their families, can join the Exeter-based support groups. He is instrumental in the South West support network for patients, (affi liated to the national Oesophageal Patients’ Association), and he works closely with the FORCE Cancer Support Centre, which provides peer support for patients with all types of cancer after treatment is completed.
The experience and specialist knowledge Keith, and other members of the specialist nursing team, have acquired over the years is readily shared with junior members of the Exeter hospital team and with professionals on a national level.
