Question: What is a Multi-Disciplinary Team (MDT) and how are they invovled in my care?

Answer: Jeni Jones, Support Manager, Pancreatic Cancer UK

The multi-disciplinary team (MDT) is a specialist multi-professional team who make decisions together about how someone diagnosed with pancreatic cancer is to be looked after during the course of their illness. The team will consist of CORE members, and other associate members. The core generally consists of an MDT co-ordinator, gastroenterologist, medical oncologist (deals with chemotherapy), clinical oncologist (deals with radiotherapy), radiologist ( an expert on all types of scans and x-rays), pathologist (looks at tissue under the microscope), nurse specialist, dietician and surgeon. Other members would include palliative care nurses, clinical trials nurses and members of each specialist team ie: specialist registrars in surgery, gastroenterology and oncology.

At the MDT meeting the plan for treatment for each patient is discussed and any investigations which are recommended are ordered and the findings from any previous investigations discussed. Eligibility for clinical trials will also be considered. All members of the team should agree on a course of action and the decision taken should be accurately recorded and acted upon by a member of the team. The MDT co-ordinator ensures any actions are followed up.

As a patient or family member sometimes it can feel like you are waiting a long time to hear about your diagnosis or test results etc, but behind the scenes, there are people discussing each individual case and deciding the best way forward. The MDT team are involved in all stages of care, and often, cases can be discussed several times throughout the patient pathway.

If the case is "new" to the MDT, the patient will receive a call following the initial MDT discussion from the Nurse Specialist to inform them of the outcome of the meeting and explain the next steps. At this stage an outpatient's appointment is usually made so that a face to face discussion can take place. This is an opportunity to ask questions and receive results. Information can be given about future treatment plans, and often, the patient will be given some time to go away and consider all the options outlined.