Today sees the publication from NHS England of "Thousands of cancer patients to benefit from early supportive care".  This can only be seen as a good thing...strange, but true, we were only talking this morning at our GO Girls meeting (always a great opportunity for sharing) about the need for responsiveness to patients needs.

So what is the idea behind this initiative?  There is no denying that cancer is scary.  From the very first day you are told you have cancer - fear occupies a significant part of your emotions.  Supportive care is about ensuring you have this from the beginning of diagnosis, onwards.  The document is, however, not rocket science - it's good common sense - but it can hardly come as any surprise that patients want timely intervention for symptoms, good psychological support, support for their families and carers, as well as  good use of effective technology to ensure communication is swift and cohesive.

You could argue this is something we have already captured through the GO Girls.  We were founded just for these worthy reasons  - and sometimes you cannot underestimate the power of a hug, rather than drug.  We're  not saying medication and anti-cancer treatment is not important - of course it is, but it is important to know what it can do, what you can expect and how it will affect you.  Any long-standing, tricky illness deserves also a human touch - we need to stand out more from a medical model to an inclusive patient model where we really hear what the patient has to say and respond to this appropriately.  We know the NHS is straining with numbers - cancer cases are rising - and this inevitably puts a system under pressure.  But if we are truly to meet the needs of cancer patients, there must be investment - that's for government to recognise and I truly hope the Government will recognise the importance of such investment, as demonstrated by this report.  In the interim, the GO Girls will remain strong - we will always be here for women with gynaecological cancers - signposting them where we can and helping support them along every step of their cancer journey.  Yes, we are campaigning hard for funds.  Why? We want to achieve what women did for breast for gynae cancers and improve survival - we hope you can help us in our journey - thank you.  I am sure you will find this an interesting read https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/gogirlssupportgroup
https://www.england.nhs.uk/2016/07/early-supportive-care/#comment-492528