Appointments

We offer appointments:

• face-to-face
• by telephone
• by video call

We offer one-to-one and group programme appointments. We’ll tell you before what type of appointment you have.

Face-to-face appointments take place at Guy’s Cancer Centre and Guy’s Hospital. Please check your appointment letter for details of where to go.

How to get an appointment

Your GP, cancer care team or another health professional can refer you.

You can also self-refer. Please contact us.

Changing your appointment

• Physiotherapy appointments: 020 7188 9654  
• Occupational therapy appointments: 020 7188 9654
• Speech and language therapy appointments: 020 7188 6233
• Dietetics and nutrition appointments: 020 7188 4128   

Before your appointment

Please wear loose fitting clothing and footwear that you can take off easily as your therapist may carry out a physical examination, including looking at, assessing and measuring the affected area.

During your appointment

First clinic appointment

Your first appointment will last up to 1 hour. You can bring a family member, carer or friend with you.

We'll ask you about your medical history and lifestyle and examine you. We may ask you to undress to examine the affected area.

At this appointment we'll:

• discuss how your problem is affecting your life and your ability to carry out your usual activities
• check your movement
• examine the affected area or review activities that may cause your symptoms
• measure any swelling, changes in movement or symptoms
• discuss how to manage your symptoms, prevent deterioration, and help you try and improve your ability to carry out daily tasks

We'll discuss with you any options for rehabilitation and work out a care plan together.

Group information session appointments

We may invite you to a small group information session. This can be face-face or by video call.

These friendly, informative sessions can last from 30 minutes to 3 hours depending on the programme. Programmes cover:

• how to manage and monitor symptoms that may affect your daily activities
• health and wellbeing
• recovery following treatment such as surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy and hormone therapy
• exercise and physical activity
• relaxation
• other rehabilitation services at Guy’s Cancer Centre and close to home

Group exercise classes and physical activity appointments

We run physical activity and exercise classes to help with:

• returning to fitness
• stretching and relaxing
• rehabilitation
• tiredness
• weight and breathlessness management

These groups take place at the Guy’s Cancer Centre gym or the Gordon Survivorship centre. Some classes are online.

We also offer a year-long phone support service to help you with any concerns and plan for any goals you want to achieve.

We are a teaching hospital. Students supervised by qualified staff might be involved in your care. This is valuable training for students but please tell us if you do not want them to be present or involved in your care. This does not affect the quality of your treatment in any way, and we’ll always respect your wishes.

After your appointment

The therapist will discuss with you the best way to manage your condition. You may be:

• given advice on how to manage your condition at home
• start a course of individual cancer rehabilitation
• start a course of group exercise classes or education programmes specific to your condition
• supplied with equipment, walking or activity aids that help you to do daily activities
• referred to other teams to help with your concerns
• given information on how to access further support

We’ll send you a letter with a summary of your assessment and treatment. We’ll also share this with your GP and cancer team. Please tell us if you do not want a copy of your letter.