ABSTRACT
A substantial change in NMSC’s perception and its impact on patients’ health and condition have been observed the last decade. Except for skin cancer cure, quality of life became an essential element of patient care. A few most popular QOL assessing instruments were identified. The generic (SF-36), dermatologic (DLQI, Skindex), and cancer-specific (EORTC QLQ-C30) tools were found too insensitive and unspecific in skin cancer patients’ assessments. However, they complement a set of skin cancer-specific tools (SCQOLIT, SCI, BaSQoL). Their strengths and weaknesses were described. Considering the cosmetic outcome, no consensus on proper and reliable instruments for different treatment techniques results reporting exist. Thus, available results are based on specific retrospective papers: the PROFILES registry, international meta-analysis of 58 studies, and SCRiBE meta-analysis. A need for prospectively constructed and randomized trials directly comparing surgical versus radiation approaches, taking into account cosmesis, was identified. The chapter covers the skin cancer clinical nurse specialist role in evidence-based care for oncology patients. Also, different types of wounds that tissue viability nurses manage are presented; expert opinions in managing complex wounds to other healthcare professionals are provided, including the referral criteria and the benefit of collaboration with other professionals.
