Hospital Services

The Cancer Nurse Assessment Clinic is a specialist clinic located in the day ward of the Andrew Love Cancer Centre. The Cancer Nurse Assessment Clinic provides support for patients at home who are suffering from side effects after receiving anti-cancer treatment at Barwon Health. The cancer nurse assessment clinic also provides your pre-treatment education, as well as any required ongoing education such as with a change of treatment or new treatments added.

The Cancer Nurse Assessment Clinic offers phone advice for patients or their support person from an experienced specialist cancer nurse.

Patients can call for advice if they are:

• Feeling unwell
• Are feeling uncomfortable
• Are worried or unsure what to do

The Cancer Nurse Assessment Clinic can provide nursing support to patients in the clinic if it’s determined necessary, such as providing IV fluids and anti-nausea medications.

How can the Cancer Nurse Assessment Clinic help me?

When you call, the Cancer Nurse Assessment Clinic nurse will ask you some questions about what side affects you are experiencing, the treatments you are having and what actions you have taken so far, this will help the nurse decide what type of care you need.

The Cancer Nurse Assessment Clinic nurse may then:

• Give advice over the phone about how to manage or improve your symptoms at home
• Advise you to come into the Cancer Nurse Assessment Clinic for review
• Advise you to see your GP or the closest emergency department

When and where it’s necessary, the Cancer Nurse Assessment Clinic nurse will consult with your haematology or medical oncology doctors as well as pharmacy to ensure the advice we are providing is safe and appropriate.

It is possible for the Cancer Nurse Assessment Clinic nurse to review you over telehealth if you feel it would valuable to have a visual assessment or video consultation. This system is easy and user friendly.

Patients and their carers can receive over the phone advice and support if they have any concerns or are feeling unwell.

For Health Professionals

The Cancer Nurse Assessment Clinic welcomes and encourages calls from GPs and local healthcare providers to foster an open shared care relationship with our patients.  

The nurse can provide necessary referrals to services such as social work, dietetics, cancer care coordinators, oncology rehabilitation and psych-oncology.