If you are living in Dundee and have been affected by cancer, our Improving the Cancer Journey (ICJ) service is here to help you live as well as possible. We can help with a wide range of personal, practical and emotional needs.  Our team will meet with you to explore what’s important to you, your concerns and help you access suitable support to improve your quality of life during and after treatment.

Some of the ways we can help include:

• Helping you find answers to the questions you have about your cancer and treatment
• Putting you in touch with money and benefits advisers
• Securing practical support, for example, help at home
• Connecting you with specialist, community-based wellbeing services

We use a tool called a Holistic Needs Assessment to help people identify what they are worried about, their priorities and what matters to them.  The HNA tool covers over 50 areas of concern from money and finances, a range of physical concerns, practical things like housework and getting about through to mental wellbeing. We’ll work with people to prioritise their concerns and develop a plan of action for tackling them.  We have two Macmillan Support Facilitators on our team and they provide one point of contact for individuals throughout their time in the service.

Dundee has a higher than average incidence of all main cancers (except prostate). In 2010, 5,200 people were estimated to be living with or beyond cancer in Dundee.  This is expected to rise to 8,400 by 2030. 

The good news is that advances in treatment means more people are surviving cancer.  But this also brings some challenges around living well beyond cancer treatment and dealing with the all practical, personal, financial and emotional needs that can crop up. That’s why we are here. We know that two third of people with cancer have practical or personal care needs and only half will get support from informal carers.  One in seven people have had to go to hospital for an unplanned or emergency visit due to a lack of support for their practical or personal needs.  Research carried out on behalf of Macmillan found 80% of Scottish cancer patients are £420 worse off after they are diagnosed through a mix of lost income and extra costs.

Everyone living with cancer who is over 18 years old in Dundee can access the service. Carers and family members looking after someone with cancer can also use the service. We have no upper age limit and we cover all cancer types.

You can expect a compassionate, empathetic and personalised approach which is focussed on you. When you contact us, we will take some basic information and give a brief explanation of what we do to help you decide if the service is right for you. We’ll then arrange for you to meet one of our two Macmillan Support Facilitators - appointments are usually arranged within 72 hours. We’ll complete a Holistic Needs Assessment with you and use this to discuss your concerns, priorities and needs and shape an action plan with you.  We can then make any referrals to other services and organisations on your behalf, provide you with information and advice and check back in with you at agreed times.

The service is a partnership between the Dundee Health and Social Care Partnership and Macmillan Cancer Support. We also work very closely with Dundee City Council, NHS Tayside, Dundee Leisure and Culture, Maggie’s, Tayside Cancer Support, CanDu, Dundee Voluntary Action and other voluntary and community organisations.

Everyone in Dundee will receive a letter six to 12 weeks after being diagnosed with cancer.  However you don’t need to have or wait for the letter – you can also contact us using the following details:

Tel: 01382 433340

Text reply service: Text YES along with your name to 07860 077337

E-mail: improving.cancerjourney@dundeecity.gov.uk