Editorial

Education for cancer encompasses a huge range of skills on behalf of the ‘teacher’ and a huge range of needs from the ‘students’. This, because cancer education can span from information and teaching provided for the well public, whether school pupils or adults of all ages to that requested from patients or families who are affected by cancer. During first level and subsequent training and education for health professionals, education may be to enable them to take part in prevention and screening programmes, to assist those trying to diagnose and stage cancer, to understand the complexities of the many treatments for cancer and how some of them work together but may cause unwanted side-effects and to be sensitive to the needs of those requiring palliative and supportive care. In addititon to all of this, cancer education also encompasses the psychological, ethical, social and spiritual issues of the experience of cancer. The disease is all encompassing.

Following cancer awareness-raising in the undergraduate programmes for health professionals the specialist focus on aspects of cancer more usually sit within the continuing professional development programmes available to qualified health professionals. The European Association for Cancer Education (EACE) has just held its 17th annual scientific meeting where all of these issues have been debated and where several cancer patients helpfully contributed. We heard about the preventative work of dental surgeons in the Lower-Normandy region of France following a one day course and several workshops dental surgeons were able to spot early signs of head and neck cancers and cancer of the oral cavity. They were also taught about the effects of cancer treatment on the oral cavity and dentures. The course altered their own practices as well as increasing the team working and referral patterns between them and the local cancer centre, the Centre Francois Baclesse in Caen. Oncology nursing education was discussed led by a teacher from Paris who had used the core curriculum produced by the European Oncology Nursing Society (EONS) and adapted it for use within her own country with very positive results. Nurses were able to use evidence-based practice as a result of it and be much more skilled in critical thinking and reading of research appropriate to their specialty. Oncology physicians in Romania were the subject of another interesting piece of research presented. The cancer physician/patient communication problems in Romania included the influences of culture and ethnicity within that country and the attitudes and beliefs of patients, family and health professionals with regard to end of life in cancer. The paper concluded that consolidation workshops for transferring already acquired skills into the specialty of oncology, had been highly successful. There was much resonance from delegates to these complex education issues faced by us all.

Cancer patients contributed to the sessions on ‘survival’ from cancer and the range of emotions experienced when cancer had been ‘cured’. Attention from health professionals was radically reduced which left patients with feelings of isolation and desertion. Guilt was felt that one ‘survived’ whilst another did not. Why? Was a frequently asked question. Clearly the transition from ‘patient’ to ‘well member of society’ is much more difficult than most of us have imagined but there appears to be no-one to help them.

The meeting opened and closed with the call for inter and multi professional team working across professional groups and within them. Individuals engaged in cancer education at all levels and for all categories must continue to collaborate with each other to provide the highest degree of expertise to the cancer patient directly or through the work of their ‘students’.

Anyone interested in the EACE's annual meeting 2005, Birmingham, UK, should contact joy Notter or Lynda Ford at [email protected] or [email protected]