Cancer care offers exciting and rewarding careers across nursing, allied health professions, medicine, healthcare science, research, support services, and leadership roles.
Whether you're currently studying, completing a placement, undertaking an apprenticeship, or considering a future career in healthcare, understanding cancer care can help you develop valuable knowledge, skills and experience that will benefit patients throughout your career.
Cancer care isn't limited to specialist oncology wards and departments. People affected by cancer are cared for across hospitals, community services, primary care, rehabilitation services, hospices and voluntary organisations. Whatever healthcare career you choose, you're likely to support people affected by cancer at some point in your professional journey.
The truth is that cancer care can be emotionally challenging at times. Healthcare professionals working in cancer services may support people through difficult conversations, complex treatments, uncertainty, and end of life care. However, these experiences are not unique to cancer services. Across healthcare, professionals regularly care for people facing life-changing diagnoses, serious illness, injury, loss and bereavement.
What makes cancer care special is the opportunity to build meaningful relationships with patients and families over time, supporting them through different stages of their journey and often seeing the positive impact of treatment, recovery and rehabilitation.
Many people who work in cancer care describe it as one of the most rewarding areas of healthcare, combining clinical expertise with compassionate, person-centred care.
"You could actually speak to people, and you could hear them tell you their story and stuff that was nice to hear them - in most cases getting better." - Third Year Healthcare Student, Oncology Placement
Cancer care is not only about supporting people during difficult times. It is also about helping people return to work, achieve personal goals, recover from treatment, manage long-term effects, spend meaningful time with loved ones, and live well beyond a cancer diagnosis. For many healthcare professionals, it is these moments, and the relationships built along the way, that make cancer care such a rewarding career choice.
Don't let the perception of cancer care being "too sad" put you off exploring a career in this area. Cancer services need compassionate, skilled professionals from a wide range of backgrounds, and there are opportunities to make a real difference at every stage of a person's journey.
Cancer affects millions of people, their families and their communities. Developing an understanding of cancer care can help you provide compassionate, person-centred care throughout your career. Nearly every healthcare professional will support someone affected by cancer
Regardless of your profession or specialty, you are likely to care for people who have been diagnosed with cancer, are receiving treatment, are living with the long-term effects of cancer, or are supporting a loved one through their cancer journey. Every member of the workforce plays an important role in improving patient outcomes and experiences.
However, Cancer care offers rewarding career opportunities. From direct patient care to research, education, workforce development and leadership, cancer services provide a wide variety of challenging and rewarding career pathways. Early exposure can support your career development
"You know there's so much scope with it that it's a bit mind boggling to be honest, to figure out where you would go with it." Second Year Healthcare Student, Oncology Placement
Learning about cancer care now can help you identify areas of interest, prepare for future placements and gain a better understanding of the opportunities available across the healthcare.
There are many opportunities to learn more about cancer care and related careers locally. These may include:
Speak to your university, placement team or education lead to find out what opportunities may be available to you.
You can also access local training at Weston Park Cancer Centre, through the South Yorkshire Learning Platform.
Interested? ACCEND can help you explore career opportunities, develop your knowledge and understand the skills needed to support people affected by cancer.
Designed with students and trainees in mind, ACCEND includes a pre-registration level of practice to help you build confidence, reflect on your learning, and prepare for your future career. Whether you're already studying a healthcare profession or considering one in the future, ACCEND can help you take your first steps.
However, before exploring the wider ACCEND framework, we recommend completing Foundations of Cancer Care. This e-learning provides a introduction to cancer pathways, communication and personalised care, living with and beyond cancer, supporting patients and families and the role you play in improving patient experience and outcomes. All transferable skills regardless of your role.
“I haven’t had much experience of cancer patients before and it gave me a whistle stop tour of all the stages of a patient’s journey. As a student nurse on an oncology placement, I’ll be treating the side effects and symptoms of cancer and its treatments, so it was really good to have an insight of how they work.”
Cancer care needs people with many different skills, interests and backgrounds.
Whether you're interested in clinical care, rehabilitation, emotional support, research, education, leadership, service improvement or community working, there's likely to be a role within cancer care that matches your interests. The ACCEND Framework can help you explore these opportunities and understand the skills and knowledge needed to build a rewarding career supporting people affected by cancer.
You don't need to work in cancer service to make a difference. You could work in a GP practice spotting signs and symptoms, in community services supporting recovery or in rehabilitation teams helping patients regain independence. Cancer is in every area of healthcare, meaning that many professionals play an important role without ever having "cancer" in their job title.
You don't need to work in cancer service to make a difference.
You could work in a GP practice spotting signs and symptoms, in community services supporting recovery or in rehabilitation teams helping patients regain independence. Cancer is in every area of healthcare, meaning that many professionals play an important role without ever having "cancer" in their job title.
Cancer nursing offers a wide variety of careers, from direct patient care to leadership, education and research. You could work as a CNS supporting patients throughout their treatment journey, an SACT nurse delivering treatment or an ACP managing emergency admissions. Many cancer nurses develop long-term relationships with patients and families, helping them navigate some of life's biggest challenges and milestones.
AHPs help people affected by cancer maintain their health, wellbeing and quality of life. You could be a physiotherapist helping someone recover after surgery, a dietitian supporting nutritional needs during treatment, an occupational therapist helping patients return to daily activities, or a therapeutic radiographer delivering life-saving treatment. AHPs are involved throughout the cancer pathway from diagnosis to recovery.
Many of the roles that keep cancer services running are carried out by the supportive and assistive workforce. You could be a Clinical Support Worker providing patient care, a Cancer Navigator helping patients access services and appointments or an Assistant Practitioner supporting registered professionals. These roles are often the first point of contact for patients and can have a huge impact on their overall experience.
Not everyone supporting people affected by cancer works for the NHS. You could work for a local charity helping patients and families access resources, coordinate peer support groups, deliver physical activity sessions or offer financial advice. VCSE organisations play a vital role in supporting people and families throughout their journey, often helping with the practical and emotional challenges that come with a cancer diagnosis.
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