It’s no different to the hospital really, just smaller.
When Teresa Goodbun was invited to attend a local mobile unit for her ongoing cancer treatment she was delighted.
Having undergone a mastectomy at the William Harvey Hospital, and chemotherapy at the Kent and Canterbury Hospital, a 15-minute drive from her home in Shepherdswell, near Dover, the mobile unit is just five minutes down the road for her in the car park of Tesco.
“It made sense really to use it once it was established that I could go there instead, so I decided to give it a go,” says Teresa.
“Once I saw what it was like inside, I was absolutely fine and totally reassured,” she says.
“The unit is all kitted out just like a mini chemo unit, it’s no different to the hospital really, just smaller.”
Teresa attends the unit known as Caron, named after Caron Keating, the daughter of TV presenter and broadcaster Gloria Hunniford, who lost her life to breast cancer in 2004.
Her appointments are to have her PICC line flushed and to pick up her medication which is now something that fits comfortably into her life and her routine.
“Because I am having a procedure that doesn’t leave me feeling sick or drained, I just pop into Tesco afterwards and get my shopping done,” says Teresa.
It has become a regular, normal part of my everyday life.
“Kent and Canterbury Hospital is lovely, but it is obviously always very busy. By the time I would find a parking space, which could be really hard at certain times of the day, I would then wait around for my treatment which was also dependent on the volume of people that day.
“It really did write off a huge chunk of time, you couldn’t really plan anything else that day.”
“The hospital staff do a great job, that goes without saying really, but for my needs now, the mobile unit is ideal, and of course that means I am taking a little bit of pressure off the chemo unit at the hospital for people who don’t have the option or are not at the stage of being able to use the mobile cancer care unit.
“I feel incredibly lucky to have this alternative option. It is so nice in there. I have got to know a lot of the nurses and the driver. It’s a very relaxed environment. They give you a cup of tea or coffee and biscuits and there is always a bit of banter going on. I do look forward to going there and having a bit of a laugh with everyone.
“And because it is so much smaller, they are dealing with fewer people so that means they are able to stick to the timetable more easily.
“I think the staff are just brilliant. Because there is parking right there by the unit, I sometimes wait in my car if there isn’t a chair available and it’s raining.
“They always come and find me and help me to get on to the unit as I walk with a stick. They make sure I get up and down the steps safely, they are so thoughtful and caring and I never feel rushed.
“It’s nice to see the same faces each time, it makes you really feel they know you and you are treated very much as a person and an individual.”
Teresa who is now 72 was diagnosed with breast cancer in September 2022 after a routine mammogram.
She hadn’t been experiencing any symptoms prior to that and wasn’t expecting the devastating news a few weeks later that she had two tumours in her left breast and would need a mastectomy.
“It was a big shock, but I am a very pragmatic person. I didn’t burst into tears; I just took the view that I needed to get on and do what needed to be done to get better.
Teresa had her operation in November 2022 and after a few initial problems with draining the fluid from the breast she started chemotherapy in February 2023 and has been using the mobile unit since last summer.
“Before this happened to me I used to see the mobile unit parked up at Tesco but never really paid much attention to it.
“But when you are going through something like this it really brings it home what a fantastic service it offers.
“I really appreciate everything they do there, and I would absolutely recommend using the mobile unit to anyone if they are given the option at some point in their treatment.”
It’s no different to the hospital really, just smaller.
When Teresa Goodbun was invited to attend a local mobile unit for her ongoing cancer treatment she was delighted.
Having undergone a mastectomy at the William Harvey Hospital, and chemotherapy at the Kent and Canterbury Hospital, a 15-minute drive from her home in Shepherdswell, near Dover, the mobile unit is just five minutes down the road for her in the car park of Tesco.
“It made sense really to use it once it was established that I could go there instead, so I decided to give it a go,” says Teresa.
“Once I saw what it was like inside, I was absolutely fine and totally reassured,” she says.
“The unit is all kitted out just like a mini chemo unit, it’s no different to the hospital really, just smaller.”
Teresa attends the unit known as Caron, named after Caron Keating, the daughter of TV presenter and broadcaster Gloria Hunniford, who lost her life to breast cancer in 2004.
Her appointments are to have her PICC line flushed and to pick up her medication which is now something that fits comfortably into her life and her routine.
“Because I am having a procedure that doesn’t leave me feeling sick or drained, I just pop into Tesco afterwards and get my shopping done,” says Teresa.
It has become a regular, normal part of my everyday life.
“Kent and Canterbury Hospital is lovely, but it is obviously always very busy. By the time I would find a parking space, which could be really hard at certain times of the day, I would then wait around for my treatment which was also dependent on the volume of people that day.
“It really did write off a huge chunk of time, you couldn’t really plan anything else that day.”
“The hospital staff do a great job, that goes without saying really, but for my needs now, the mobile unit is ideal, and of course that means I am taking a little bit of pressure off the chemo unit at the hospital for people who don’t have the option or are not at the stage of being able to use the mobile cancer care unit.
“I feel incredibly lucky to have this alternative option. It is so nice in there. I have got to know a lot of the nurses and the driver. It’s a very relaxed environment. They give you a cup of tea or coffee and biscuits and there is always a bit of banter going on. I do look forward to going there and having a bit of a laugh with everyone.
“And because it is so much smaller, they are dealing with fewer people so that means they are able to stick to the timetable more easily.
“I think the staff are just brilliant. Because there is parking right there by the unit, I sometimes wait in my car if there isn’t a chair available and it’s raining.
“They always come and find me and help me to get on to the unit as I walk with a stick. They make sure I get up and down the steps safely, they are so thoughtful and caring and I never feel rushed.
“It’s nice to see the same faces each time, it makes you really feel they know you and you are treated very much as a person and an individual.”
Teresa who is now 72 was diagnosed with breast cancer in September 2022 after a routine mammogram.
She hadn’t been experiencing any symptoms prior to that and wasn’t expecting the devastating news a few weeks later that she had two tumours in her left breast and would need a mastectomy.
“It was a big shock, but I am a very pragmatic person. I didn’t burst into tears; I just took the view that I needed to get on and do what needed to be done to get better.
Teresa had her operation in November 2022 and after a few initial problems with draining the fluid from the breast she started chemotherapy in February 2023 and has been using the mobile unit since last summer.
“Before this happened to me I used to see the mobile unit parked up at Tesco but never really paid much attention to it.
“But when you are going through something like this it really brings it home what a fantastic service it offers.
“I really appreciate everything they do there, and I would absolutely recommend using the mobile unit to anyone if they are given the option at some point in their treatment.”
