Photo opportunity 4.45pm, Thursday 23 January, West Park conference centre, Perth Road Dundee.
A new play called 'Cancer Tales' written to express the voices of people whose lives have been touched by cancer will be performed at the University of Dundee this week as part of a study day for nurses and allied health professionals involved in cancer care.
Cancer Tales by Nell Dunn is based on real life stories of five women and their experiences of support when cancer affected their families. The playwright explains: "I didn't know what it meant for one person to support another through a crisis. I can remember friends and lovers going through horrific things and not knowing how to help, the numb feeling of no man's land. By writing Cancer Tales I got on the trail like a good detective. I began to fathom out what it is people can do for one another."
Organiser of the study day Mary Wells, clinical research fellow in cancer nursing at the University of Dundee said: "We hope the day will stimulate nurses and other health care professionals to listen more carefully to the individual experiences of patients with cancer, and to make a more thorough and holistic assessment of patients needs during periods of acute illness."
Earlier in the day the nurses will hear talks from experts in cancer care. Shelley Dolan from the Royal Marsden Hospital in London will speak on the nurse consultant role in high dependency care and Janet Baxter from Tayside University Hospitals will explain the importance of nutritional support for cancer patients.
If members of the public are interested in attending the play Cancer Tales, they should contact Mary Wells on 01382 348643.
By Jenny Marra, Press Officer 01382 344910 j.m.marra@dundee.ac.uk