this is Emma she's a busy healthc care professional her life is hectic whether visiting people at home running clinics or attending various meetings no two days are ever the same this is Jenny she is 41 a wife to Tony a mom to three boys and she's just been told she has cancer her heart's thumping she's shocked and frightened she thinks of her boys Emma meets Jenny at her first consultation Emma talks about the treatment options on offer and ask Jenny if she has concerns or worries Emma gives her leaflets and booklets about diagnosis and treatment and she'd like to discuss Jenny's concerns in more detail but the consultation is almost over and Jenny's already overrun with information Jenny attends a second consultation with Emma she's found the chemotherapy challenging and is anxious about the financial impact of taking time off work but she doesn't want to bother Emma about it after all the most important thing is to get better quickly go back to work and feel normal again halfway through her treatment and Jenny's anxiety is no better she dreads each chemo session and finds this makes her withdrawn money worries are always a concern it's all getting a bit too much Jenny is just one of Emma's patients and so she finds herself spending more and more time on the phone answering questions and offering advice and support she wishes there was more time in the day the service manager is introducing holistic needs assessment and Care planning and offers Emma some training this will allow her to feel more confident in having structured conversations to support people with with cancer back to Emma and Jenny's first consultation when they meet for the first time and Emma asked Jenny to fill out a holistic needs assessment Jenny completes it while she's in the waiting room and writes that she's worried about the chemo therapy she is also anxious about the financial impact of taking time off work if she needs it Emma spends half an hour going through the assessment with Jenny she provides her with information about about the financial services McMillan can offer such as being referred to a benefits advisor or the McMillan support line she directs her to support groups and advises her on the best ways to manage her anxiety together they develop a care and support plan which Jenny takes home and Emma stores in patient records as her needs change Jenny does more assessments some of which are done at home with the help of a community support team throughout her treatment and even when she returns to work Jenny feels supported and has the confidence to ask for help if she needs it she knows where to go for more information and can attend support sessions in her local community Emma finds that the assessments help her structure conversations and ensure that she covers everything in consultations reducing people's anxiety levels and in turn reducing the amount of phone calls those 30 minutes guarantee the care you offer is truly person centered and makes all the difference to people's cancer Journeys for further help and advice about holistic needs assessment contact McMillan cancer support