Sheffield is one of four areas taking part in the £1.4m CANAssess study which aims to improve the support given to cancer patients. Around 250 cancer patients from the city will be recruited to take part in the research.

The study, funded by Yorkshire Cancer Research, will test if there is a way to improve how to identify and manage the symptoms and concerns of people who have been diagnosed with cancer within general practice. 

The Sheffield Hub is being hosted by Primary Care Sheffield (PCS) and headed by Dr Jon Dickson, Clinical Lead for Research at Primary Care Sheffield.

What we did

PCS worked with practices in Sheffield to support them to join the study. Our support includes work by our research nurses who undertake the consent process with patients and undertake follows ups over a six-month period. At the same time our data coordinator provides administrative support including preparing patients packs and undertaking data entry. The at-scale support provided by PCS makes it possible for more practices to take part including those covering the economically deprived areas of Sheffield which traditionally have not been able to take part in research projects of this kind.  

Impact

The CANAssess protocol paper was published in BMJ Open, and the current number of recruits in Sheffield can be seen on the PCS Performance Reports page.