A specialist cancer team - multidisciplinary team (MDT)
Cancer
treatment and care is provided by different kinds of doctors, nurses
and other healthcare professionals working together as part of a
specialist cancer team. This is often called the multidisciplinary team
or MDT for short. Teams work together to share their expertise. They
usually meet once a week to review all the new patients in the hospital
or department, as well as any complicated existing patients, and
discuss the best course of action.
You may not meet all of your cancer team together at one time and in larger teaching hospitals there will be many members of the team that you do not meet. You will however see different members who are relevant to your current treatment and care.
Each of the health professionals in your specialist cancer team has a different role, providing surgical, medical, practical or emotional help and support. The members of your team will depend on the type of cancer and on your individual needs.
The specialist team is likely to include some, if not all of the following doctors and nurses:
Surgeon
A Surgeon specialises in your type of cancer or the part of the body where your cancer is. Surgeons perform operations and other surgical procedures (including biopsies) to diagnose and treat cancer.
Physician
A
Physician specialises in your type of cancer or the part of the body
where your cancer is. 'Physician' is the general term for medical
doctors (doctors who do not carry out surgery).There
are many different kinds of physician for example, a chest physician, a
pathologist or radiologist. More information about their roles can be
found in our Types of hospital doctors explained section.
Oncologist
An
Oncologist specialises in the medical treatment of cancer. A Clinical
Oncologist specialises in treating patient with radiotherapy and may
also use chemotherapy and hormone therapy. A Medical Oncologist
specialises in treating patient with chemotherapy.
Specialist Nurse/ Clinical nurse specialist (CNS)
A
specialist nurse has done additional training and has expertise in
particular types of cancer or treatments. You can find out more about
the different types of nurses in our Nurses in cancer care section.
Other healthcare professionals
There may be many other healthcare professionals involved in your treatment and care and you can find out more about their roles in our Other professionals working in cancer care section.
Page last edited: 25 November 2011
