At the age of 48, Claire Melton was too young to be called for the national breast screening programme, so when she found a tiny lump, she was certain it was nothing to worry about. But after visiting her GP and being fast-tracked to hospital, she was given the devastating news that she had Stage 4 cancer and it had spread to her bones. She started her treatment at the Norfolk & Norwich Hospital 8-years-ago but says over the last few years she had become increasingly aware of the pressure on staff and the growing volume of patients at the hospital. When she was asked if she would like to have her treatment on the mobile cancer care unit, she thought she would give it a go and now says the service is better than she could ever have imagined.
My local hospital is a nightmare for parking, and like most NHS hospitals, it is drowning under the volume of patients it has to deal with.
The anxiety of having to find a space for the car and then just waiting, never knowing how long it was going to take to be seen, just added to what was already a stressful situation.
The treatment rooms at the hospital were getting busier and busier to the point where some of us had to move up to a ward for our appointments. I didn’t really think that worked very well and I didn’t like it.
I was asked if I would like to try the mobile unit for my immunotherapy, which I have to have every three weeks, and I thought it was worth a go.
My experience definitely makes the case for lowering the age when women are called for a mammogram.
The outcome for me was not great. I will need treatment for life but being able to have it on the mobile unit has definitely made it more bearable.
As it has turned out, it is absolutely brilliant.
When I first went, I couldn’t believe how efficient it was. I just turned up, went straight in and within a few minutes I was having my treatment.
The whole process takes around 30-40 minutes from start to finish.
The mobile unit for me is a 15-minute drive from my home. It’s pretty well the same distance for me to go to the hospital, but the experience is worlds apart.
I had never noticed the mobile unit parked up at the supermarket before, and when I went for my first treatment there, I actually couldn’t find it. I was laughing at myself for not being able to find a massive bus in a car park, but it was discreetly tucked away around the back where there were plenty of parking spaces.
The staff there are just so lovely and friendly. I am in and out really quickly, no hanging around; it’s honestly so easy.
Being told I had incurable cancer was a big, big shock to me and my family. I hadn’t told anyone I had found a lump because I really believed it would be nothing to worry about.
My local hospital is a nightmare for parking, and like most NHS hospitals, it is drowning under the volume of patients it has to deal with.
The anxiety of having to find a space for the car and then just waiting, never knowing how long it was going to take to be seen, just added to what was already a stressful situation.
The treatment rooms at the hospital were getting busier and busier to the point where some of us had to move up to a ward for our appointments. I didn’t really think that worked very well and I didn’t like it.
I was asked if I would like to try the mobile unit for my immunotherapy, which I have to have every three weeks, and I thought it was worth a go.
As it has turned out, it is absolutely brilliant.
When I first went, I couldn’t believe how efficient it was. I just turned up, went straight in and within a few minutes I was having my treatment.
The whole process takes around 30-40 minutes from start to finish.
The mobile unit for me is a 15-minute drive from my home. It’s pretty well the same distance for me to go to the hospital, but the experience is worlds apart.
I had never noticed the mobile unit parked up at the supermarket before, and when I went for my first treatment there, I actually couldn’t find it. I was laughing at myself for not being able to find a massive bus in a car park, but it was discreetly tucked away around the back where there were plenty of parking spaces.
The staff there are just so lovely and friendly. I am in and out really quickly, no hanging around; it’s honestly so easy.
Being told I had incurable cancer was a big, big shock to me and my family. I hadn’t told anyone I had found a lump because I really believed it would be nothing to worry about.
My experience definitely makes the case for lowering the age when women are called for a mammogram.
The outcome for me was not great. I will need treatment for life but being able to have it on the mobile unit has definitely made it more bearable.
