A Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS) is also sometimes known as a ‘key worker’ and will be someone dedicated to a particular area of nursing.  A liver cancer CNS will have essential skills, knowledge and experience caring for patients with liver cancer.  The CNS is often closely involved in patient care, guiding treatment decisions, but also providing psychological support and symptom control.  Your CNS is the person who can advise you on what to do, if you have a problem, as well as help you get in touch with additional people to help you, if that’s needed.

Hepatobiliary surgeons are those who are experienced in operating on a person's liver. Surgeries include laparoscopic or open procedures, removing or sometimes ablating liver tumours.  In patients with early stage cancers surgeons also perform liver transplant operations. Our surgeons know about the anatomy of the liver, the blood supply to different lobes, what kind of operations people need, and how much liver needs to be left behind in different patients.  With the rest of the team and the patients, surgeons decide if an operation is the right thing for individual people.

An oncologist is a doctor who provides specialised treatments for patients with cancer.  A liver oncologist is one who typically focuses on medical treatments that slow down or kill cancer cells. Some oncologists also treat patients with radiotherapies, which needs to be very carefully targeted in liver cancers, so as not to damage liver tissues and liver function.  Oncologists are always trying to find better treatments, so they often work in clinical trials units exploring different types of treatments.

Sometimes there is not a specific anti-cancer treatment – either curative or palliative – that our patients can have that will help them.  For these people, we focus on their supportive care – looking at a person's symptoms or needs. Whether it's not eating enough, trouble with bowels, sleep, energy levels, pain or anxiety.  We know that ‘best supportive care’ focused on individual needs can help people live longer, as well as have a better quality of life.  Palliative care specialists include specially trained consultants and nurses, but often many other doctors (eg. G.P.s) and team members (district nurses) who also have expertise.  Palliative support can be organised in hospitals, at home and also sometimes in a hospice.

Specialised liver cancer radiologists are medical doctors who those who diagnose the cancers and how advanced they are using medical imaging techniques such as computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Interventional radiologists are those who also perform investigations that are guided by imaging (biopsies, liver pressure studies). They also perform some of the treatments, like ablation or transarterial chemo-embolisation (TACE).

If you can, continuing to do some kind of exercise can also be beneficial to you if you have cancer. A physiotherapist is a person qualified to treat people – sometimes with physical methods like massage or heat.  Stretching or exercises can also be very helpful in maintaining strength and fitness.  Specialist physiotherapy support is not always available when you need it, but ask your doctors or nurses if you think this might help you.  On our website, we have also provided some information that you might find helpful.

Continuing to eat and what you eat, is very important – especially if you have cancer.  Dieticians understand the process your body goes through when you have liver disease or cancer and can advise people on what they should eat.  Not all MDT have a dietician on hand to see and advise patients with liver cancers, so we have provided some advice on our website.