A day in the life of a Specialist Nurse: get to know our expert team

Every day, men and their families are facing the life-changing impact of a prostate cancer diagnosis. For many, it’s a time filled with anxiety and confusion.

Most people have lots of questions, so compassion, reassurance and accurate information that’s easy to understand can make all the difference at a stressful time.

That’s where our Specialist Nurses come in. With over 300 years’ of NHS healthcare experience between us, and backgrounds in urology, oncology, palliative care, practice nursing, research and ward management, we have the expertise and dedication to make a real difference for men and the people who love them.

Flexible, one-to-one support when people need it most

Our 14 highly-trained Specialist Nurses offer a unique and vital service. We listen to, guide and support anyone who’s been affected by prostate cancer or prostate problems - whether you’re a man living with the disease, his partner, a family member or a concerned friend.

We’re available Monday to Friday, from 9am (10am on Wednesdays) to 5pm, offering information and support in a number of different ways:

• Give us a call. We provide a telephone service if you’d like to speak directly to one of our nurses and hear a calm, reassuring voice at the other end of the line.

• Chat with us. With the live chat service on our website, you can ask quick questions and get the support you need if you don’t feel comfortable talking out loud.

• Send us an email. You can email our team to share with us what you’re going through and get a more detailed response to any questions you might have.

• Start a conversation on WhatsApp. Chat with us over instant messaging if you’d prefer to connect with us informally.

• Message us on social media. If you’d like to drop us a message using another social media platform, we’ll get back to you.

Every year, more and more people are getting in touch with our Specialist Nurses. In fact, we responded to more than 14,000 enquiries in the last year alone. You’ll speak to a real nurse, who’ll listen to you without judgement and answer your questions with clarity, compassion and professionalism.

Some of the people who get in touch with us are newly diagnosed and feeling overwhelmed. Others are living with advanced prostate cancer and want to talk through their treatment options, or the side effects that may be impacting their quality of life. Many are partners or relatives of men who are living with the disease, trying to make sense of prostate cancer and looking for somewhere to turn.

A day in the life of a Specialist Nurse

So what does a Specialist Nurse actually do? Let me walk you through a typical day. It looks something like this …

9am: A morning on the phone

I start my day by logging in to the Specialist Nurse telephone support line, and I spend the morning taking calls and giving one-to-one support, guidance and reassurance to men and their loved ones. 

No two calls are the same, and no two days are the same. Some are straightforward - like questions about having a test or the possible side effects of prostate cancer treatment. Others are more complex and may involve me providing emotional support, breaking down medical jargon or helping someone understand their test results. 

Listening is just as important as speaking, and I feel truly privileged to be able to give every person who gets in touch all the time they need. Each call lasts as long as it needs to. 

1pm: A break for lunch

After four hours on the phone, it’s time for me to log off, hand over to another member of the team and take a well-earned lunch break. This is my chance to briefly recharge, by stepping outside for a walk or simply enjoying some quiet time away from screens and headsets.

1.30pm: Catching up with calls and emails

The afternoon kicks off with follow-up calls. Perhaps I needed some extra time to gather information to help answer someone’s question, or maybe someone wasn’t able to get through earlier and has asked me to call them back. This is also a good time of day to respond to emails from people who have got in touch looking for information and support.

I usually have some time set aside to contribute to other work, too. It might be reviewing information leaflets for patients, giving a clinical perspective to help colleagues working on the charity’s campaigns and fundraising activity, or preparing notes for a talk. Whatever the task at hand, collaboration is key.

Some of the nurses also provide specialist services, like our sexual support service. Or they might run a class for men on hormone therapy, focusing on empowering men to manage their side effects. We also offer support to other healthcare professionals, who want to understand how they can provide better care for their patients.

3pm: Catching up with the team

The Specialist Nurses contribute to many projects and support other teams across the charity. For example, we may be planning to run a webinar or reviewing pages for our website.

This is also a good time for one-to-one meetings, providing peer support or reviewing a colleague’s response to an enquiry and providing some constructive feedback.

When all our work is done, I join the other Specialist Nurses for a virtual catch-up. It’s a lovely opportunity to talk about what’s happened during the day, raise any complex issues, share experiences and offer support to each other.

Answering calls can be emotionally challenging at times, so peer support within our team is vital. This is also the right time and space to check in on each other personally and see how everyone’s feeling.

5pm: Rest and reflection

It’s time to log off and step away from the day’s work. Our calls, projects and conversations may be over for now, but our impact continues.

For many callers, the conversation they had with one of us may have been a lifeline — providing clarity, comfort or hope when they needed it most. And often those callers stay in our thoughts long after we’ve put the phone down.

Making a difference, one open and honest conversation at a time

Prostate cancer is now the most common cancer in the UK, with over 475,000 men living with or after the disease. Yet it can still be difficult to talk about. Many men suffer in silence, unsure where to turn or what questions to ask.

Our Specialist Nurses break through that silence, providing a safe, confidential and trustworthy space to talk — not just about medical details, but about fears, relationships, sex, identity and life after cancer. 

Our Specialist Nurse service is only possible because of generous donations from our supporters, and it’s completely free to anyone who uses it.

We're here for you

Do you need immediate support with any of the issues raised in this article? Whatever you'd like to talk about, our Specialist Nurses are here to help. You can call 0800 074 8383, send an email or write us a message on WhatsApp. 

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*For this article, we’ve changed some people’s names to protect their anonymity – but their stories and reflections are real.