After 9 months, today was the day that I finally decided that the local service is probably the best of a bad lot (to non UK readers, sorry about the idiom). The 21st century option was ruled out by UCLH on clinical grounds, so I am back to the 20th century options which are the only alternative in the UK. I could have continued to explore options in Europe or further afield, but it is time to call a halt and just get on with it.......
You may recall that I was "summoned" at less than a working day's notice to the anticipated appointment with the Oncologist. This meant missing a very important meeting, but on balance it was (just) a sensible decision to accept the appointment. It was what I expected, but I don't think that the consultant will forget it in a hurry!
Those who live in this country will be used to tales of hospitals full to the brim with people lying on trollies in corridors, stacked up in ambulances etc etc etc. You will also be used to politicians telling you that the NHS can be "fixed" by thowing money at it. The overcrowding may be true in some places, or some parts of hospitals, but the idea that you can solve anything by throwing money at it is b****cks. Why the rant? Read on.........
Appointment scheduled for 10:30 in the cancer day care unit at Medway Hospital. Signed in, only to discover that I was a "new patient" to reception; the cancer centre is not run by the same hospital group as Medway Hospital................ Lovely clean waiting area with curiously multi-coloured comfy chairs, little tables, a digital radio (tuned to radio 1?????), a volunteer offering tea and coffe (but not gin, I did ask), and virtually no patients. Indeed, the number of staff walking about being "busy" outnumbered us punters.
11:00 summoned by the consultant. A cheery, relatively young, chap with a good manner who actually comes out of his room to collect you. This is a complete contrast with the vast majority of the consultant body, but not unheard of. We had met before, but more as a courtesy to him for offering me an appointment just before I went on the UCLH odyssey.
An interesting 40 minutes or so ensued in which I asked as many questions as I felt I needed to. I won't bore you with the details, but it was both interesting, informative and, I think, pretty challenging for him; I was certainly not what he was used to! The upshot was that I am now signed up for a course of radiotherapy which will last 7.5 weeks. This is longer than the standard, but will lessen the risk of collateral damage which was, after all, the purpose of the quest. Thankfully, no parallel hormone therapy. Phew!
I am now to be contacted by a "scheduler" who will book me in for (another) CAT scan, the insertion of 3 gold implants (at least I will have some scrap value!) and the course of radiotherapy which will not start until June at my request. The radiotherapy will be daily, but only 5 days a week as we cannot expect the NHS to work at weekends. I have a feeling that getting a consistent time of day may be a bit of a problem, but I am fairly used to battles with the NHS, so do not anticipate too much of a problem......at least, not for me.
As I left the consulting room, on good terms I might add, I observed that he might need a stiff drink after that consultation. His response was amusing: " I think that you know the answer to that one". I hope that I did not spoil his day too much, but also hope that he might offer the information that I got out of him to future patients without prompting. I have a feeling that he will.
Getting late, so will stop writing now. Tomorrow I might add a post reflecting on NHS funding and its use of resources; if you are of the "all NHS problems can be solved by throwing money at it" mindset, you will probably want to give that one a miss. Unfortunately, you will be exactly the person who should be reading it......................
Your reward for getting this far: a song which sprang to mind over dinner this evening as being appropriate. Great pics with this one as well...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=heRyBhKi3kA
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