The unit is so much more efficient. You feel more of a person than a number.
52-year-old dance teacher Angela was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2018. She underwent a mastectomy followed by chemo and radiotherapy, before follow-up scans showed she was cancer -free.
Then in April 2022, she felt poorly and noticed her stomach was unusually large. The doctor dismissed it as acid reflux and although she pushed for a referral in light of her medical history, he insisted she tried a month’s course of medication first to treat reflux. “I waited another two months to get a face-to-face appointment because I still felt poorly. A second doctor instantly referred me for a scan as it was evident there was a problem. I was told my liver was enormous. I had the scan and just two hours later, my doctor was phoning me with the news that there was a problem. I had stage four liver cancer. I started treatment at Canterbury hospital in October last year.”
“I have a three-month cycle of oral medication, Ribociclib and Letrozole, which I collect from the unit rather than the hospital pharmacy and then once every four weeks I have my Zoladex injection on there. I also used to have to travel to Buckland Hospital in Dover to get my bloods done but now I also have these done on the unit, which makes so much more sense all being under one umbrella.”
Travel time from Angela’s home to the hospital took around 20 minutes, but parking “is always a problem and there was always lots of people in the waiting room. Then your appointment was always delayed and of course you didn’t have much money to put in the car park machine to extend your stay, which added to the stress. Also, if you’re doing school runs you can’t afford to be delayed, you have to allow long enough to get to certain places.”
Now it takes her just eight minutes to get to the unit which is situated in her local Tesco’s car park, and there’s no waiting around. This has drastically saved her time, enabling her to plan her day better around the school run.
My hospital appointments easily took up the best part of the day, as opposed to the unit which is more ‘on and off’.
Another aspect she doesn’t miss from the hospital is the smell, which for her “is the worst thing. The chemo department has just got its own particular smell which I can’t describe and for me it triggers the association with cancer.”
“The unit is so much more efficient. You feel more of a person than a number. You don’t have to say ‘oh hello, I’m Angela Carrington’ and give your date of birth when you turn up, as the nurses already know who you are. I really hope more patients get to benefit from the service.”
The unit is so much more efficient. You feel more of a person than a number.
52-year-old dance teacher Angela was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2018. She underwent a mastectomy followed by chemo and radiotherapy, before follow-up scans showed she was cancer -free.
Then in April 2022, she felt poorly and noticed her stomach was unusually large. The doctor dismissed it as acid reflux and although she pushed for a referral in light of her medical history, he insisted she tried a month’s course of medication first to treat reflux. “I waited another two months to get a face-to-face appointment because I still felt poorly. A second doctor instantly referred me for a scan as it was evident there was a problem. I was told my liver was enormous. I had the scan and just two hours later, my doctor was phoning me with the news that there was a problem. I had stage four liver cancer. I started treatment at Canterbury hospital in October last year.”
“I have a three-month cycle of oral medication, Ribociclib and Letrozole, which I collect from the unit rather than the hospital pharmacy and then once every four weeks I have my Zoladex injection on there. I also used to have to travel to Buckland Hospital in Dover to get my bloods done but now I also have these done on the unit, which makes so much more sense all being under one umbrella.”
Travel time from Angela’s home to the hospital took around 20 minutes, but parking “is always a problem and there was always lots of people in the waiting room. Then your appointment was always delayed and of course you didn’t have much money to put in the car park machine to extend your stay, which added to the stress. Also, if you’re doing school runs you can’t afford to be delayed, you have to allow long enough to get to certain places.”
Now it takes her just eight minutes to get to the unit which is situated in her local Tesco’s car park, and there’s no waiting around. This has drastically saved her time, enabling her to plan her day better around the school run.
My hospital appointments easily took up the best part of the day, as opposed to the unit which is more ‘on and off’.
Another aspect she doesn’t miss from the hospital is the smell, which for her “is the worst thing. The chemo department has just got its own particular smell which I can’t describe and for me it triggers the association with cancer.”
“The unit is so much more efficient. You feel more of a person than a number. You don’t have to say ‘oh hello, I’m Angela Carrington’ and give your date of birth when you turn up, as the nurses already know who you are. I really hope more patients get to benefit from the service.”
