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Calling the London Regional Cancer Program

Telephone: 519-685-8600

Business Hours:

8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Monday to Friday

After hours:

4:00 p.m. to 8:30 a.m., Monday to Friday, Weekends, and Statutory Holidays

Before you call LRCP, please have this information ready:

• Your name or the patient’s name
• Phone number where you can be reached
• Your LRCP chart number or your date of birth
• Name of your nurse and oncologist
• Reason for your call

Can a family member call on my behalf?

Calling During Business Hours: 8:30 p.m. – 4 p.m.

What are my options when I call?

My condition has changed. What do I do?

Can I speak directly with my primary nurse?

What if I’m not home when my nurse calls?

Can I reorder my medicine by phone?

Can I call for my test results?

Who do I call if I need to change an appointment?

Calling After Hours, Weekends, and Holidays

Call LRCP immediately if you suddenly experience

Are there other times when I should call my family doctor?

Can a family member call on my behalf?

LRCP staff will not give information over the phone to a family member without your consent.

To protect your privacy, we need your consent to speak to a family member about your care. If you wish to appoint one family member as your spokesperson, please give us that person’s name.

Talk to a member of your healthcare team about your wishes regarding privacy and confidentiality.

Calling During Business Hours: 8:30 p.m. – 4 p.m.

LRCP uses an automated telephone service. To speak with an operator at anytime during business hours:

• Call 519-685-8600
• Press ‘0’ at any time
• Stay on the line, if you have a rotary dial phone

What are my options when I call?

You can choose one of the following options during regular business hours:

• Enter the 5 digit extension of the person you want to reach, followed by the # sign

• Press ‘2’ to confirm or change an appointment

• Press ‘3’ to reach Clinic Services and telephone triage nurses

• Press ‘4’ to talk about the Canadian Cancer Society’s Transportation Program

• Press ‘6’ to discuss making a donation

• Press ‘0’ to speak to an operator or stay on the line if you have a rotary phone

You may have more options after each of these choices. Please listen to the message and select the option that best suits your needs.

My condition has changed. What do I do?

If you are calling about symptoms or a change in your condition, you should speak to a Telephone Triage Nurse who can assess your situation.

Press ’3’ to reach the Clinic Services and Nursing line. These lines are very busy. Please stay on the line until your call is answered. Calls are answered in the order they come in.

The Clinic Services and Nursing phones are answered Monday to Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. LRCP is closed on weekends and holidays, but there are physicians on-call.

Can I speak directly with my primary nurse?

Primary nurses cannot be reached because they work in clinics during business hours.

It is important to tell the Telephone Triage Nurse the details about your call. A message will be given to your primary nurse describing your concerns or questions.

If you need a call back from your primary nurse, this may take up to 72 hours. It may take longer, depending on your question or concern. If you are calling about symptoms or a change in your condition, the Telephone Triage Nurse will assess your situation and give you instructions.

What if I’m not home when my nurse calls?

If you have an answering machine, please leave your family name or phone number on the taped message so the nurse can be sure she is leaving a message for the correct person. If this information is not on your answering machine, hospital staff will not leave a message. This is to protect your privacy.

Can I reorder my medicine by phone?

You may call to reorder medicine prescribed by your oncologist. It will take at least 3 working days to have your medicine reordered. Please keep track of your medicines so that you do not run out. Some prescriptions cannot be reordered over the phone.

The LRCP Pharmacy cannot renew medicine prescribed by your family doctor. However, your family doctor can renew many prescriptions ordered by your oncologist and other LRCP physicians. Ask your nurse or your oncologist which medicines your family doctor can reorder.

Can I call for my test results?

Test results are not discussed over the telephone. Test results will be discussed with you at your next visit. If a test result comes back that concerns your oncologist, we will call you before your next visit.

Who do I call if I need to change an appointment?

If you need to change an appointment, please call 519-685-8600 as soon as possible. Press ’2’ to change your appointment.

Severe winter storms rarely close LRCP. But if we are closed because of a storm, staff will call you within one week to make another appointment. Listen to the radio and television for announcements. Call if you are in doubt.

Call 519-685-8600 and press ‘2’ to change, confirm, cancel, or rebook your appointment.

Calling After Hours, Weekends and Holidays

If you need medical care after hours, contact your family doctor or go to your local emergency department. LRCP has an on-call oncologist after hours to consult with community doctors and to talk with patients who are having trouble getting local medical help.

When you call after hours, you may choose one of these options:

• Enter the 5 digit extension you wish to reach followed by the # sign
• Press ‘2’ to reach the on-call oncologist
• Press ‘3’ for information about
• appointments. There will be more options for you to choose from. Please listen to the options and choose the one that best suits your needs.
• Press ‘4’ for information about leaving a message for your primary nurse.

Call LRCP immediately if you suddenly experience:

• A fever that is higher than 100°F or 38°C and you are on chemotherapy
• Breathing problems
• Increased pain
• Loss of feeling or movement in your arms or legs, especially if you have trouble emptying your bladder
• Vomiting that lasts more than 24 hours
• Diarrhea that lasts more than 12-24 hours
• Constipation that lasts for 72 hours and is not relieved by laxatives
• Bleeding that will not stop
• Confusion and increased sleepiness
• Seizures and convulsions
• Swelling or pain in your arms or legs
• Your arms and legs feeling hot or cold to the touch in
• New pain, especially in the spine

If you live out of town, call the telephone triage nurse, your family physician, or go to your nearest Emergency Department. Your family doctor or the treating physician can call the on-call oncologist at 519-685-8600.

Are there other times when I should call my family doctor?

Call your family doctor:

• To renew all drugs prescribed by your family doctor. The LRCP pharmacy only renews drugs prescribed by LRCP oncologists.
• To renew drugs prescribed by your oncologist to manage side effects. These might include constipation, nausea and pain.
• For test results done at any hospital. These may include blood tests or x-rays.

• Your family doctor's office can call the hospital directly to get your results. If you have more questions about your cancer diagnosis and treatment.
• If you have any changes in your health between visits to the Cancer Program such as a cold or the flu.
• For health problems your doctor has been treating you for such as a heart condition, high blood pressure and diabetes.

Your family doctor can call LRCP for more information about your care or to inform us of any changes in your health.