Welcome to Cancer Matters Wessex
Information about services and support for people affected by cancer in Dorset, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight
SafeFit - specialist cancer exercises
SafeFit has been designed, in response to the COVID-19 crisis, to support people living with cancer to maintain and improve their physical and mental health and well-being, whilst following government guidelines.
Key links
Worried about cancer?
If you have signs or symptoms that could suggest cancer, it is important you seek clinical advice. GPs can still make urgent referrals to specialists or for tests if they’re worried you might have cancer. Your GP surgery may offer you an online consultation, so you do not have to go to the surgery unnecessarily.
Please contact your GP surgery directly if you are worried about a possible cancer symptom. You can telephone or you can go to your surgery’s website and complete and submit an online form via e-Consult.
If you have been referred by your GP and have been offered a diagnostic appointment, this means you have been given a fast track referral and it’s really important you go to your appointment. Please read or print out the fast track referral leaflet for information about the next steps. To request the leaflet in a different format, please email: dcp@dorsetccg.nhs.uk.
Keeping well
Knowing about the signs and symptoms can help catch cancer in its early stages. Some you may not even think might suggest cancer. A better understanding of all the signs and symptoms could alert you to a change and prompt you to contact your GP without delay.
Screening is one of the best ways to catch certain types of cancer before they can really take hold. If you are invited for screening, it’s important to keep your appointment.
Living with cancer now
Following diagnosis
A cancer diagnosis can be overwhelming. Macmillan Cancer Support can help you make sense of it all, with ongoing tailored information and support you can trust, from day one. Helping you cope with the physical, financial and emotional impacts of cancer, including:
- following a healthy diet during treatment
- planning and managing your finances
- understanding what benefits you may be entitled to
- talking about your diagnosis with loved ones and colleagues
- coping with any changes in your relationships.
Sign up to Macmillan Cancer Support
Care following your cancer treatment
Outpatient hospital appointments used to continue for a number of years after cancer treatment had ended. We now know attending hospital appointments to discuss normal test results is of no real benefit and follow up is managed differently. The significant difference is that you now self-manage your follow-up care and will contact the hospital if and when you need to.
