Delivering personalised cancer care to enhance patients’ quality of life

Abstract

Why you should read this article: • To enhance your knowledge of personalised cancer care and support planning for patients living with cancer • To increase your awareness of methods of delivering personalised care virtually to patients living with cancer • To contribute towards revalidation as part of your 35 hours of CPD (UK readers) • To contribute towards your professional development and local registration renewal requirements (non-UK readers) Many people with cancer experience long-term physical and emotional challenges resulting from the disease and its treatment. Personalised care enables people to exercise choice and control over how their care is planned and delivered. The principles of personalised care are based on healthcare professionals focusing on what matters to people living with cancer. Personalised care enables people to use their individual strengths to ensure that they can have an active role in decisions about their care if they so choose. This article explores personalised nursing care in the context of people living with and beyond cancer. The author examines how nurses can adopt a personalised care model and how this supports improved quality of life and outcomes for patients with cancer. Additionally, the author explores how personalised care interventions have been affected by the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic and how these might be delivered virtually.