Quality of life means different things to different people, but it matters to everyone. More people are surviving cancer than ever before - but living with cancer, and the effects of its treatment, can have a negative impact on people’s physical, emotional and social wellbeing.
NHS England and NHS Improvement and NHS Digital have launched a nationwide Cancer Quality of Life Survey (QoL) to help us understand what matters to patients; to find out how quality of life may have changed for people diagnosed with cancer, to see where care is working well or not so well, and if any new services are needed.
The information collected from the survey will help us to work out how best to support people living with and beyond cancer.
Patients will receive a survey invitation through the post around 18 months after their diagnosis. It takes five to 10 minutes to complete and questions cover physical and mental wellbeing such as the psychological impact of living with and beyond cancer.
Having completed the survey, patients will be able to print off their own Quality of Life scores as a summary and use it for discussions with healthcare professionals about their needs and areas where they are struggling.
To find out more, visit the Cancer Quality of Life Survey website. There is also a free helpline 0800 783 1775 to support patients to complete the survey and respond to any queries or difficulties.
See also information for healthcare professionals
The data results can be accessed from the Cancer Quality of Life dashboard. Providers can compare results by age, geography and tumour to help improve cancer care for patients post-surgery or treatment
