It is a world filled with unpronounceable drugs, specialists known as oncologists, linear accelerators and untold questions.
Will my hair fall out? When does treatment start? How sick will it make me?Oncology nurse Jo Tuaine hopes that by answering those questions and explaining the process to patients she can alleviate some of their anxiety.
Often patients do not hear much after the specialist has told them they have cancer, but now they are given an appointment in a recently established nurse-led education clinic.
"It is quite scary being told you have got cancer, and they get a lot of information."
The clinic gives patients time to ask questions once they have had time to think and before they start treatment, Mrs Tuaine said.
"I make sure they are better prepared for the very scary world they are coming into."
Before it was established, education was given on the same day patients started their treatment.
Patients were often stressed and suffering from high anxiety and nurses would have to hurry the education, because they knew they had to get treatment in.
The treatment clinic was a small room with no privacy, which made it difficult for patients to talk about issues such as their body image changing or how to deal with side effects, such as diarrhoea.
"I'm going to lose my hair.
"I've lost my breast and I'm not not going to look attractive, and I don't want to show my husband" - people don't want to talk about those sort of things when they don't have privacy, Mrs Tuaine said.
During the clinic, Mrs Tuaine talks about the drugs patients will be taking, what side effects they may have, how to identify when they need to seek help and from whom to seek it.
It is also an opportunity to assess patients' psychological and social needs and other issues, such as venous access for giving drugs.
Sometimes, she takes patients to see the treatment room, so they know what it looks like before they start, and explains why nurses have to wear specialised clothing while giving treatment.
"Hopefully, I take away some of the hyperanxiety that might be there."
