Carmen Burgheaua, Urology Clinical Nurse Specialist at Cromwell Hospital, explains our prostate pathway and how it helps support patients get rapid access to the diagnostics and treatment they need without delay.
What is the prostate pathway at Cromwell hospital?
The prostate pathway provides a quick access to care for patients receiving a cancer diagnosis, which is supported by our Urology Clinical Nurse Specialist, Prostate Pathway Coordinator, Radiology Consultants with the MRI team and several Urology Consultants specialists.
What is your involvement in the prostate pathway?
My role in the prostate pathway starts with the telephone triage service. This requires specialist expert knowledge of prostate cancer. Taking a full medical history, I assess and make clinical decisions including the request of PSA blood test and imaging such as a multiparametric MRI scan.
All patients booked for an MRI scan have arranged appointments to see a Urology Consultant Specialist on the same day to discuss the scan results. I join the consultation and I follow up these patients as inpatients for treatment and outpatients for the continuation of care, teaching, and counselling.
How does the prostate pathway support patients?
The prostate pathway has been well received and has become standard practice within our organisation. The clinical prostate pathway provides fast access to quality care. It enables the patients to know what to expect from the procedures they are about to undergo and be more comfortable with the processes.
As stated by our patients the prostate pathway improved their cancer journey throughout the diagnostic and treatment.
If a patient is diagnosed with prostate cancer through the pathway, what would be the next step?
The next step would be a prostate biopsy to certainly confirm the diagnostic and future treatment.
The stage of prostate cancer is one of the most important factors in choosing the best way to treat it and is based on the extent of the cancer, the PSA level, and Gleason score when is first diagnosed.
Why would you recommend the prostate pathway?
The pathway provides fast access to care. It sets out how to achieve an early diagnosis in men at higher-than-average risk of the disease.
It has been developed to deliver best practice diagnosis, treatment, and support.