CANCER patients in the Isle of Man were asked to share their views on the care they received through their illness in August.
The Department of Health commissioned a cancer patient survey which was distributed to 340 people who had recently undergone treatment for cancer.
It was hoped that the personal feedback of patients would help to shape the future of cancer care in the Isle of Man and help to shape the Island's first cancer strategy which is due out in 2012.
Elizabeth McGowan, the cancer services improvement nurse for the Department of Health, organised the study.
She said: "I acknowledge that there will be patients who, for whatever reason, will not wish to fill in the questionnaire. They may not wish to talk about their cancer and I wholeheartedly accept that and that is fine.
"But for those who feel they want to get their say in and help shape the future for Isle of Man cancer services I feel it is a fantastic opportunity and I highly recommend it.
"All I can say is that their feelings and their experiences will help other patients in the future – and possibly themselves."
The questionnaire asked more than 70 questions about the care patients received - from the GP referral, to the diagnosis, to the treatment they received. It was administered by Quality Health – an organisation that has completed similar studies across England.
People were asked to be as honest as possible when completing the questionnaires which are confidential.
Elizabeth continued: "I decided that a study of cancer patients' experiences would be very viable and very significant - allowing cancer patients in the Isle of Man to be part of shaping a cancer strategy which is a one off opportunity.
"Cancer is quite an emotive subject and it affects more than one in three of us now according to the latest research.
"I want people to be honest – whether it's positive or negative. The only way we can learn is to ask the users of the service for their experience. We've got to start somewhere. I expect people to be justifiable and honest in their answers.
"We can only improve the services based on the feedback we get from people – we can't do it in isolation. We can sit behind a table and write lots of reports and strategies but we are not the people who are using the service so it's not going to be as effective."
This story is part of isleofman.com's Review of the Year 2011.
