The Role of General Practitioners Across the Cancer Continuum Using the Caring Life-Course Theory

General Practitioners (GPs) play a crucial role across the cancer continuum, from prevention and early detection to end-of-life care. GPs provide comprehensive care that addresses a broad spectrum of health issues rather than a specific disease. Elements such as person-centeredness, continuity of care and whole-person care define the specialty of general practice. Other characteristics, such as expertise in managing uncertainty, undifferentiated illness and complexity, care coordination and teamwork, facilitate its evolution as a specialty.

This paper uses the Caring Life-Course Theory as a theoretical framework to discuss the role of GPs in cancer care. We explore the barriers and enablers of providing optimal care in general practice for people diagnosed with cancer on an micro-, meso- and macro-level using the Caring Life-Course Theory.

The fundamentals of care framework aligns with the key characteristics of general practice namely first contact care, comprehensive care, continuity of care, person-centeredness and whole-person care. General practice is underpinned by a long-term therapeutic partnership with the patient, the ability to meet a range of care needs simultaneously, and an understanding of the context in which care is taking place. GPs provide care across the life course, facilitate self-care, care from others and care for others, assess care needs at transitions during the cancer continuum, and maintain a detailed care biography of the patient.

Adequate funding of longer consultations to facilitate the delivery of complex care, and expansion of multidisciplinary primary care teams, is required to sustain the delivery of quality cancer care in general practice.

There is significant opportunity to enhance the role of primary care nursing in delivery of cancer care in general practice, but this must be supported by enablers across all levels of care delivery.