Hello Paul--I so agree with what you said to Spouse about not [paying for it when we are talking about cancer. All the riches in the world won't give you any better care than waht we get under the good old NHS for all its flaws. When I think of what I wold havepaid for the treatmet I have had it is just mind-bending.
But what I was going to tell you was about free gym arrangements. You know how I am always worried about my scrawny arms and poor weight? These are things I CAN do something about.
Well the nurse practitioner at my GPs told me this week that at our local Sports Centre, the usual big town all facilities one,you can bwe recommended to go there by your specialist as a valid part of the treatment and you can use the equipment as and when you want and it doesn't cot anything.
I pass this on as my Sunday good deed (!!!?) because I was told most emphaticaly that I couldn't go because as I have a hiatus hernia, brought on by choking while trying to chew rather than slurp, it would not be a good idea.
I have to stick to the tin in each hand routine dammit. And here was me looking forward to meeting an eligible muscly grandad!!
But it would be therapeutic for you I should imagine. And they would arrange visits so that you wouldn't be surrounded by boring macho show-offs!
I hope you are feeling better after all the treatment so far, Paul. Regards Ishbel

Ishbel, I think you misunderstood my message. I didn't say anything about getting better care by paying privately, I said we got quicker care.

It was the same consultant/surgeon/anaethetist, but in a private hospital a week after diagnosis, rather than in an NHS hospital 3 months after diagnosis.

Our consultant advised us that my husband would be dead in 3 months.

A bit of a no-brainer really.

The unfortunate thing is our consultant says he is being pressured by NHS hospital managers not to treat new urgent patients on the NHS (with a 3 month waiting list). They want him to operate on the patients who have been waiting longer (non cancer) to keep the waiting lists down. He says he has fight with them every week to insist that he treats those who need the surgery the soonest based on their illness/prognosis, irrespective of how long they have been waiting.

I have to disagree about waiting on the NHS. My GP phoned the NHS hospital on a Friday afternoon. I had a letter 3 days later on the Monday asking me to an appointment for 1 week later the following Monday. I then had the Fine Needle Aspiration at that appointment. One week later I saw the consultant and was given the SCC diagnosis and was told he would operate the following week. That alls eems pretty fast to me.

Obviously the part of the country you live in and when your ailment manifests itself can all have an effect.

And yes since then I did lay on a trolley in accident and emergency for hours waiting to be nasal fed, but I still believe I was treated quickly and promptly by the NHS at the initial diagnosis stage.

Hello Spouse---My word in your case it was miraculous that you were able to be seen in a week. That waiting three month situation is really awful. I didn't mean to be critic\al of you at all. It does depened so much on where you are lucky/unlucky enough to be at the time when you need attention most urgently.
I am still smarting over the death of an old boyfriend of mine last year. He was on a 2-year waiting list on the NHS for a heart bypass and was fine, but tired easily and had to take everything very slowly. Then one day he thought--oh what the heck. I'm not married. No children or anything. I'll spend the money and have it done privately.
He went to see a Harley Street doctor who examined him there and then--no check with old medical records or anything, said it was straightforward--and operated within four days as he said he had a cancellation. My friend Evan never came round after the op.If only he had waited.
But that was a totally different scenario.

Regards Ishbel

What I have to agree with both of you on that life is all a bit of a lottery whatever option we choos and so it seems is the NHS. Some NHS doctors, radiotherapists etc are very very caring. A few others are abrupt and indifferent. But that is probably the same in any profession.

I think what we have to do is to give praise where praise is due. When I have been treated well my husband has made sure that those concerned know we have appreciated this.

<<<He went to see a Harley Street doctor who examined him there and then--no check with old medical records or anything, said it was straightforward--and operated within four days as he said he had a cancellation. My friend Evan never came round after the op.If only he had waited.>>>

I'm sorry to hear of this. I think we all sadly know horror stories like this and we all feel 'if only' then. My neighbour's wife died of Septicaemia in hospital due to simple negligence. She had a stroke, but she had not had her bowels down and was unable to tell them, but noone noticed or checked her elimination and she became poisoned over a few weeks and died even though she was technically getting better

Hi Ishbel

quote:

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He went to see a Harley Street doctor who examined him there and then--no check with old medical records or anything, said it was straightforward--and operated within four days as he said he had a cancellation. My friend Evan never came round after the op.If only he had waited.

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Sorry to hear that. There is always a risk with operations, but I would be very suprised if any surgeon/anaesthetist would do an op without a proper medical history. It is basic training. It is not always neccessary to see the actual old medical records. You could always ask the surgeon what actually caused the death. I believe that a (CEPOD inquiry) is usually done to find out cause of death if it happens post-op.

Best wishes
Vinod

:coffee:

Hello all�.. Ishbel.. That was so sad, but no-one knows, the same may well have happened had your friend waited, only God knows this�. But that doesn�t help much!!!

When I was first aware of my problem, I started having private treatment, I wasn�t really happy with the diagnosis at the time. It was the crucial telephone call from my doctor to the ENT consultant at the hospital that started the NHS treatment. It was the same medical team who treated me privately and unknowingly to me at that time, would be caring for me throughout my treatment and aftercare. When first diagnosed, I just assumed I would revert back to being treated privately. I was told this was not possible, the only Radiotherapy Machines in my area were in the hospital (NHS). The decision was made with my husband and family to accept this, as I could be home every evening without travelling far.

I had absolutely no waiting whatsoever since that first call, everything just ran spontaneously from the first biopsy to the last day of Radiotherapy. I have been treated with the utmost respect and care, I couldn�t have wished for better. The same can be said for my aftercare.

Same old story when the NHS works it is excellent � when it doesn�t well���

Take care

Rosemary