When I first worked in acute oncology, the focus was often on identifying and managing treatment complications, responding quickly to people who became unwell, and helping patients safely navigate increasingly complex treatments.

Even then, it was clear that cancer care extended far beyond tumour-directed treatment. People needed support with symptoms, side effects, emotional wellbeing, rehabilitation, decision making and, increasingly, the long-term consequences of living with cancer.

Since leaving frontline acute oncology practice, I have watched that complexity continue to grow. Cancer treatments are advancing rapidly. More people are living longer with cancer. Many patients are managing multiple long-term conditions alongside their diagnosis. At the same time, health services face increasing demand and workforce pressures.

That is why I was pleased to read the Acute and Supportive Oncology Clinical Consensus Statement, published jointly by the Royal College of Physicians and the Royal College of Radiologists. The statement sets out a compelling vision for how acute and supportive oncology services can evolve to meet the needs of patients now and in the future.

One of the strongest messages for me is that acute and supportive oncology are not separate concepts. They are intrinsically linked. Excellent cancer care requires both the effective management of acute complications and a proactive focus on supporting people to live as well as possible throughout their cancer experience. This includes symptom management, psychological support, rehabilitation, personalised care, palliative care and supported self-management.

What particularly resonated with me is the emphasis on integrated working across traditional organisational boundaries. The consensus statement highlights the need for closer collaboration between hospital teams, primary care, community services and specialist supportive care professionals.

This aligns closely with what many of us are seeing across the healthcare system. As more people live with and beyond cancer, support cannot be delivered solely within specialist cancer centres. We need stronger connections between services and more support available closer to home. We need systems that help people maintain independence, manage the consequences of treatment and access the right support at the right time.

I often think about one patient from my time in acute oncology. She was a woman receiving immunotherapy for melanoma who was admitted with acute colitis, a potentially serious inflammation of the bowel caused by treatment. At the time, the focus was on recognising the complication quickly, managing it safely and helping her recover enough to return home.

What stayed with me, however, was everything that happened afterwards.

Although the acute episode improved, she went on to develop longer-term health issues related to treatment, including diabetes, inflammatory arthritis and significant anxiety about her future health. Her cancer care became only one part of a much bigger picture. She needed support from multiple specialists, help to manage new long-term conditions, rehabilitation and reassurance as she adjusted to life after treatment.

Looking back, that experience taught me an important lesson. Acute oncology is rarely just about the acute event. Behind every emergency admission or treatment-related complication is a person whose needs continue long after they leave hospital. The impact can be physical, emotional, practical and financial, and often extends for many years.

That is why I believe the growing focus on supportive oncology is so important. It recognises that excellent cancer care is not simply about responding to crises when they occur. It is about anticipating needs, supporting recovery, managing longer-term consequences and helping people live as well as possible with and beyond cancer.

The statement also recognises the importance of personalised care and holistic assessment. These are areas where nurses have led the way for many years. Nursing has always been about seeing the whole person, not just the disease. Whether working in acute oncology, chemotherapy services, radiotherapy, primary care, palliative care or community settings, nurses are often the professionals who identify concerns early, coordinate care and advocate for what matters most to patients and families.

As I read the document, I was struck by how many of the priorities depend on nursing leadership and expertise. Early assessment, symptom management, patient education, care coordination and supportive care interventions are core elements of nursing practice. Yet nurses are not always as visible as they should be in national conversations about service development.

If we are serious about delivering the vision outlined in this consensus statement, nursing must be recognised as a key partner in shaping and leading that change.

I am encouraged by the direction this document sets. It reflects a growing understanding that good cancer care is about more than treatment delivery alone. It acknowledges the complexity of modern cancer care and the importance of supporting people physically, emotionally and practically throughout their cancer journey.

Most importantly, it offers hope. Hope that we can build services that are more joined up, more proactive and more responsive to what people need. Hope that supportive oncology will become recognised not as an optional extra, but as a fundamental part of high-quality cancer care.

As nurses, this is a conversation we should all be part of. We see the impact of supportive care every day. We understand the difference it makes. And we have an important role to play in making the vision outlined in this consensus statement a reality.

I was also encouraged to see nursing expertise recognised within the special thanks section of the statement. While there is still more we can do to ensure nursing voices are consistently represented in national policy and service development, it is reassuring to see the contribution of nurses acknowledged in shaping this important piece of work. Given the central role that nurses play across acute oncology, supportive care, rehabilitation, palliative care and personalised care, our perspective is essential in influencing the future of cancer services.

Read the Acute and Supportive Oncology Clinical Consensus Statement.