Upper Gastrointestinal Cancer Service

Upper gastrointestinal (GI) cancer

An Upper GI cancer is a cancer arising in the oesophagus (gullet) or stomach, liver, biliary tree or pancreas.

Clinical nurse specialists

The role of the clinical nurse specialist is to provide information, emotional support and advice and to co-ordinate services and appointments as the keyworker for patients and their family. The specialist nurses are assisted by a support worker who helps them in some aspects of their work and provides additional support for patients.

Throughout your illness, your clinical nurse specialist can:

• provide verbal and written information regarding investigations, diagnosis and treatment options
• clarify the information and treatment plans you have been given
• assess your overall (holistic) needs and work with you to plan your care to meet these needs and provide or signpost to more specialised help,
  as needed
• provide emotional support to help you and your carers cope with your illness before, during and after treatment
• provide communication links with other healthcare providers
• refer you to other services as needed.

Other members of the team

Some of the specialist healthcare team you may meet during your care are:

• consultant surgeon or gastroenterologist
• oncologist (consultant who specialises in treating cancer with chemotherapy or radiotherapy)
• specialist chemotherapy nurses – nurses who work in Robert White Centre and are experts in giving chemotherapy
• dietitian – a dietitian who advises on an appropriate diet to help meet your nutritional needs
• cancer support worker – works closely with your CNS and provides additional information and support and can advise
  and signpost to other services that may help you
• community nurses – district nurses and oncology nurses who are able to visit you at home
• palliative care nurses, either hospital or community based – who provide specialist advice on symptom management and emotional care

Multi-disciplinary meetings

Every Wednesday morning, a multidisciplinary meeting is held. This is when a group of consultants who specialise in upper GI cancers meet together and discuss in detail the results of tests and the best treatment plans. Some cases are also discussed via video conferencing with consultant surgeons in Poole, Bournemouth and Southampton hospitals. These meetings are attended by:

• consultant gastroenterologists
• consultant surgeons
• consultant radiologists who can interpret scans and X-rays
• consultant histopathologist who explains and interprets biopsies that have been taken.
• consultant oncologists (cancer specialists)
• clinical nurse specialists who are able to act as an advocate for patients and able to make sure patients are kept fully informed following meetings.

Clinic letters

Each time you see a hospital doctor a letter is written to your GP summarising the consultation. You will also be sent a copy of this letter but if you would prefer not to receive it, please let the consultant or specialist nurse know. If there is anything you don’t understand or are
unsure of in this letter, please contact your clinical nurse specialist.

Contact details

You can contact the team on 01305 255710 or email uppergicnsemail@dchft.nhs.uk

Their hours of work cover Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm. Outside of these hours an answer machine is on. Please leave a message with your name and number and you will be called back within 24 hours.

You are welcome to contact the team to discuss any queries or concerns that you may have at any stage in your investigations, treatment or aftercare.

Please note, the team does not provide any out of hours, on call or emergency service. For any urgent medical issues, please contact your GP or NHS 111 or in an emergency, dial 999.

About this leaflet

Author: Jane Wraight
Written: June 2015
Updated and approved: May 2023
Review date: October 2025
Edition: 3

If you have feedback regarding the accuracy of the information contained in this leaflet, or if you would like a list of references used to develop this leaflet, please email patientinformation.leaflets@dchft.nhs.uk