Save the NHS

Today I joined members of UNITE outside the Royal Oldham Hospital to mark the birth of the National Health Service 65 years ago.

You just don't know when you might need it.

FECin appointments

Received the appointment card this morning for the three cycles of FEC.  The other three cycles will be a diiferent drug-T. (Look it up yourself).

Each treatment is over two days.  The first day I go for my bloods and then the second day the chemo is administered.  This seems a bit of a drag until you realise that the Chemotherapy Treatment Centre deals with around 200 patients a day and all the drugs are specific to that patient and treatment is dependent on the patients bloods being ok.

It's a pity that the Appointment system at the Pennine Acute Trust doesn't run as efficiently.  I am so fed up with the people on the appointment switch board not being able to understand why it might be a good idea that I have my dental treatment before I start my chemo that I have made an official complaint.  We tend to forget the 'Service' bit of the NHS and that it is our NHS.  We need to stick up for this service but tell them when they get it wrong.  It is very quietly being privatised and we are sleep walking into a system that will no longer be free at the point of delivery.  Don't let it happen.

 

Keep fighting people.

xxx

Chemo News

So on Monday we went along to Wythenshawe Hospital for me to have an echocardiogram.  I had recieved two letters from Wythenshawe, one for the echocardiogram and one for a bone density scan, different dates about ten days apart.  The bone density scan was in the Nightingale Centre at Wythenshawe.  So while I was having my heart looked into Alix went and asked if the Nightingale could do the bone density scan, which they did.

 

The chemotherapy has been put back a week but I do have a date for the treatment starting.  This of course is dependent on having a good blood count the previous day.  I think I might go mad if it does not start.

Camping by bike



Spent last weekend camping at Barber Booth Campsite in Edale.  We caught the train at Belle Vue with bikes and camping gear.  Good camping weather, so good that the campsite was full 'even to small tents' but my silver tongued friend got us on.

Ate in the Ramblers pub with Alix's family, a lovely way to finish the day.

We had all mod cons.

And the locals were friendly.



 



And I always get my priories right.

Today was the day that I nearly lost my temper and had a good blub.  I phoned the appointments again at the Royal Oldham and explained why I was phoning (restorative dentist).  After discussion with her superior the woman on the other end of the phone offered me an appointment the week the chemo starts so I explained why this would not work so she offered me an appointment on Saturday the 20th-so I had to explain that chemo would have already started.  At this point I gave up and put it back into the dentists court.

 Have spent today sorting appointments. I went to the dentist a couple of weeks ago for a root canal filling.  She was unable to break through to the canal, so had to refer me to the restorative dentist at the Royal Oldham.  So far they have not got back to me, so today I phoned the dentist and the number was unobtainable, so I emailed them.  Their phone lines were down because someone had stolen the copper cable.  I consequently phoned the oral surgery at the Royal Oldham but no one was answering.  However Wythenshawe have got back to me with a date for my echocardiogram (I may have a heart murmur).

After yesterday's visit to the Christie I am now wondering whether I am doing the right thing in saying that I want chemotherapy.
Yesterday's appointment, had apparently been cancelled by Christies but we didn't know that, so they fitted us in.  Started off with blood tests and then we were taken to the breast cancer dept.  After a short wait we were seen by a registrar.  I thought going with the decision to have chemo would have speeded things up but she went through the pros and cons with us and I have to go back Monday week to sign the consent forms and the chemo will be ordered from the pharmacy and I should start it it some time that week.
The chemo is appropriately called FEC.

Off to The Christie in about half an hour.  Should be seeing an oncologist.  I have decided to go for the chemotherapy.  Need to remember that it's only me that has decided and the doctor doesn't know this and he/she will be putting it to me as a decision that I still have to make.  Having said that we have to be there an hour before the appointment to have blood tests which seems to imply that chemotherapy is already decided upon.

It's difficult to know what I feel at the moment other than I want the whole process to move on.  I seem to be stuck in limbo.  Finding it almost impossible to do my final photographic assignment and really don't feel like doing much at all, even writing this blog is becoming difficult.  Put me in a coma and wake me up when it's all done.

 

Have a good day.

xxx