Please allow two to three hours for your first appointment as you may require blood and other diagnostic tests. When it is your turn to see the doctor, they will most likely take a brief medical history, discuss your diagnosis and explain the treatment options available. Discover more about what happens at your first appointment.
Clinics run by the Colorectal Team may be face-to-face or over the telephone depending on the nature of the appointment. They run throughout the week in both the main hospital and in the Cancer Centre. At these appointments, you may be seen by a consultant, such as a surgeon or oncologist, or another member of the medical team such as a registrar or specialist nurse. A Macmillan support worker may also contact you to signpost you to helpful information.
Find out more about outpatient appointments at the Cancer Centre.
If there is a chance that you will need a temporary or permanent stoma at any point in your treatment you will be referred to the stoma nurses who will counsel you about how to manage this. A colostomy/ ileostomy diverts one end of the colon (part of the bowel) through an opening in the tummy. The opening is called a stoma and a pouch can be placed over to collect your stools. The stoma nurse team hold clinics and visit inpatients throughout the week.