Publish date: 13 March 2026
What is a Cancer Clinical Nurse Specialist?
Someone in the UK is now diagnosed with cancer at least every 75 seconds.
Cancer Clinical Nurse Specialists are experts in their field, offering a unique blend of skills to provide quality care to patients throughout the cancer experience. They are pivotal in the coordination and delivery of personalised care interventions and offer support physically and emotionally. Cancer clinical nurse specialists are highly regarded because of their specialist training and education and for choosing to work in an extremely demanding and complex field of healthcare.
What is National Cancer CNS Day?
The idea for a national cancer CNS day was born out of the knowledge that the growth of the cancer workforce is not keeping pace with the increasing demand for cancer services. The new 10-year cancer plan, published last month, reaffirmed how central CNSs are to the care of people living with cancer, stating as one of its actions that “every patient will have a clinical nurse specialist or other named lead to support them through diagnosis and treatment” (Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England, 2026). The Aspiring Cancer Career Education Development programme (ACCEND) was established to address and provide solutions to key issues that challenge the cancer workforce both now and into the future.
X : @WYHCanAlliance
Facebook: @WYHCanAlliance
Instagram: @canceralliancewyh
LinkedIn: West Yorkshire and Harrogate Cancer Alliance
Where can I learn more?
Visit the West Yorkshire and Harrogate Cancer Alliance social media channels to learn more about the work of CNSs in our area, and see what people affected by cancer have to say about the importance of their CNS.
Watch the video below to hear Baz Rodger, our Nursing and AHP Lead, and Sarah Grant, our Workforce Development Manager, talking about the CNS role in the cancer workforce and its importance in the context of the recently-published National Cancer Plan.
