Careers in cancer care and diagnostics

Why work in cancer care

I don’t know where to start thinking about working in health care, let alone cancer care

If you don’t know where to start, you could take this 5 minute quiz to help you have a think about the options for your career in health. You could also take a look at this explanation about how healthcare teams fit together.

Healthcare service providers work in what are called different “care settings”, for example in Primary Care (e.g. GP Practices), secondary care (e.g. in hospital), in tertiary care (e.g. in specialist hospitals) and in community care (e.g. services provided close to/in the home). More than 1.3 million people work in the NHS in over 350 careers and many have inspiring stories to tell about why they chose an NHS career. Their stories may inspire you to take your first step to an NHS career. You can explore lots of different roles on the NHS health careers website here.

What would a career in cancer care give me?

Working within cancer could be immensely rewarding because it offers the opportunity to make a profound impact on patients’ lives through early detection and timely diagnosis, treatments and supportive care. Diagnosing cancer accurately and at an early stage significantly improves treatment outcomes and survival rates, providing patients with hope and a better quality of life. Being at the forefront of utilising advanced technologies and innovative diagnostic and treatment tools adds an intellectually stimulating dimension to the role. Moreover, the collaborative nature of cancer diagnostics, treatment and care, which involves working closely with a multidisciplinary team, fostering a sense of community and shared purpose. Ultimately, knowing that your expertise and efforts contribute directly to saving lives and advancing the field of oncology can bring deep professional and personal fulfilment.

In Norfolk and Waveney, cancer/cancer diagnostics services are mostly based at the three local hospitals, James Paget University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and The Queen Elizabeth Hospital King’s Lynn NHS Foundation Trust. These services support the diagnostic process (through tests and scans) and offer outpatient and inpatient treatment and care for people affected by cancer. Cancer care is also provided in Primary Care, community, voluntary and social care settings. This can involve supporting people through their cancer diagnostic, treatment and support/palliative care journeys.

Options for your next steps

If you are interested in working in cancer/cancer diagnostics, there are several first steps, depending on your starting point:

Next steps if you have no health experience:
- Contact your local hospital, GP practice, Community Trust, or local cancer charities to find out more about apprenticeship routes into health care and care assistant roles and administrative/ reception roles in cancer care (see list of apprenticeship links below).
- You could also contact your local Further Education College and or University for information about training/education and careers in health (details below).
- If you are still in full time education – you could talk to your careers office about the careers in health and social care. You could also consider taking part in the Health and Care Academy, which you can learn more about on the Health and Care Academy website here and the Health and Care Academy video here.
- You could watch learn more about cancer care by watching the videos from a World Cancer Day event at Norfolk and Norwich Hospital.
Some useful websites for apprenticeships:
Next steps if you have some health experience:
- Contact your local hospital, GP practice, Community Trust, or local cancer charities to find out more about apprenticeship routes into health care and care assistant roles and administrative/ reception roles in cancer care/cancer diagnostics. Please see apprenticeship links in the tab above or you can search for jobs in the NHS Jobs.
- You could also contact your local Further Education College and or University for information about training/education and careers in health and social care (details below).
- You can also visit the Macmillan website for general information about cancer careers, or visit the Aspirant Cancer Career and Education Development programme (ACCEND) hub (an electronic training hub for training and education for people interested in developing their careers in cancer care/cancer diagnostics).
- If you are still in full time education – talk to your careers office about careers in health and social care.
Roles that do not require a professional registration are called 'assistive and supportive roles', and some of these roles in cancer care include:
- Cancer Care Navigator: A Cancer Care Navigator you will be uniquely positioned to promote self-management and provide general information and support about cancer and cancer services, to enable patients to navigate the health and social care system and make choices that are important to them. Read an example Cancer Care Navigator job summary here.
- Care Navigator: The Care Navigator position requires you to interact with patients to ensure they are offered a positive experience by providing professional front line and call handling services. Learn more about the Care Navigator role here or watch the Care Navigator video here.
- Care Coordinator: Care Coordinators play an important role within a surgery and a Primary Care Network to proactively identify and work with people, including the frail/elderly and those with long-term conditions, to provide coordination and navigation of care and support across health and care services. Read an example job description or watch the Care Coordinator video.
Next steps if you have a professional registration and would like to build knowledge, skills or experience in cancer care/cancer diagnostics:
- You could contact your local Further Education College and or University for information about training/education to support registered practitioner careers in health and social care.
- You could also visit the ACCEND Hub. This is an electronic training/education hub for people interested in developing their careers in cancer care/cancer diagnostics.
- There are also diagnostic training academies. You can learn more about the endoscopy training academies here, or email the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals endoscopy training department here: EOEEndoscopyAcademy@nnuh.nhs.uk. You could also learn more about the East of England Imaging Academy here.

I want to know more about the different professional groups working in cancer care and diagnostics

There are many different professional groups working in cancer care/cancer diagnostics. You can find out more about these roles on the Macmillan website here, or learn more below.

The main professional groups working in cancer care/cancer diagnostics include:

Allied health professionals (AHPs) – diagnostic and therapeutic radiographers, physios, occupational therapists, speech and language therapists and dietitians. Resources: Allied Health Professionals | Macmillan Cancer Support, Allied Health Professions (AHP) Careers Awareness Toolkit, Step Into The NHS :: Diagnostic radiographer

Pharmacists Home – Pharmacy Careers (careersinpharmacy.uk)

Nurses: Nurses working in cancer care | Macmillan Cancer Support, How to Become an Oncology Nurse video, Nurses working in cancer care – Macmillan Cancer Support, Cancer Nursing Careers – elearning for healthcare (e-lfh.org.uk), Learning Hub about the Cancer Nurses Careers programme

Doctors – Doctors working in cancer | Macmillan Cancer Support e.g., radiologists, histopathologists, physicians, surgeons, and GPs with a special interest, and General Practitioners with Extended Roles

Clinical scientists research and develop techniques and equipment to help prevent, diagnose and treat illness (they are healthcare and medical experts who support clinical staff in their work with patients). Training programmes available: NHS Scientist Training Programme | Health Careers and Scientist Training Programme (hee.nhs.uk)

Cancer Genomics: Cancer genomics is the study of genes and how alterations in genes can lead to changes in cells which cause cancer. Genes are instructions which tell the body how to make all the proteins it needs to survive and grow. Watch the video: My career in genomics: cancer biology

Radiotherapy: is the treatment of cancer with high energy radiation, such as x-rays. There are two types of a Radiographer, a Therapy Radiographer which uses ionising radiation to treat the disease and gets to know the patient well and the other is a Diagnostic Radiographer which uses ionising radiation to diagnose the disease. Resources: Careers in Radiotherapy, Life as a therapeutic radiographer

Get more information from Norfolk and Waveney healthcare and education providers

Local hospitals career information:

The Queen Elizabeth Hospital Kings Lynn NHS Foundation Trust: Work with us
Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust: Register your interest
James Paget University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust: Work for Us (jpaget.nhs.uk)

Local further and higher education organisations:

Great Yarmouth and Waveney [Lowestoft]: East Coast College | Start Your Journey
City College Norwich: All Courses | City College Norwich (ccn.ac.uk)
Suffolk New College: Suffolk New College – Now Enrolling!
College of West Anglia: College of West Anglia – King’s Lynn, Wisbech & Cambridge (cwa.ac.uk)
West Suffolk College: West Suffolk College – Diplomas, Degrees, Apprenticeships & T Levels (wsc.ac.uk)
University of East Anglia: Norwich Medical School – About (uea.ac.uk)