One in two people will be diagnosed with cancer at some point in their lives. Earlier diagnosis and improved treatment means more Londoners are now surviving cancer and living with the consequences of cancer and its treatment. Around three quarters of people affected by cancer need access to psychological and emotional support.

With support from Macmillan, we are developing an end to end pathway and service specification that will set out what excellent psychological support should look like in London. This will include support before diagnosis, after diagnosis, during cancer treatment as well as what is needed after treatment ends.

We are also looking at the best support for people at the end of life and for those who may have emotional needs months or years after the end of their cancer treatment.

The event on May 4 aimed to explore what an excellent psychological care pathway for people affected by cancer should look like. We presented a pathway for psychological support which was followed by table discussions to get feedback on what works well and how can support be improved for patients.

We also highlighted the main findings from the guidance for CCGs and service providers that we published with the London Mental Health Strategic Clinical Network in 2015.

Psychological support for people living with cancer: Commissioning guidance for cancer care in London outlined 10 recommendations which covered commissioning, workforce education, training and supervision, and service development and delivery.

Watch patient representative Della talk about how cancer affected her mental health.

For more information contact England.TCSTLondon@nhs.net.