Nurse-led care for the management of side effects of pelvic radiotherapy: what does it achieve?

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: To describe what a nurse-led clinic can achieve, focusing on gastrointestinal side effects after pelvic radiotherapy. This article illustrates how a structured approach for management and treatment of late gastrointestinal symptoms after pelvic radiotherapy can be used as a model for other nurse-led clinics.

RECENT FINDINGS: A large majority of cancer survivors treated for gynaecological, rectal and anal cancer suffer from physical symptoms from the bowels, the urinary bladder and the genitals. These long-term side effects lead to impairment of social functioning, sexual dysfunction and lowered quality of life. A structured model for the comprehensive management of cancer survivors can help care givers to offer patients treated with pelvic radiotherapy, methods that could help them to more fully restore physical health.

SUMMARY: Nurses play an important role in the rehabilitation of cancer patients, improving patients' quality of life and psychosocial well being, and they are in the best position to provide continuity during the tailoring of rehabilitation care.