Sometimes you just want to be wrapped up in a great big comfort blanket and that’s what the mobile unit does for me.
The former prison governor was 58 when he was told he had terminal lung cancer in the summer of 2020 after weeks of putting his symptoms down to Covid.
“I began to feel unwell at the beginning of the pandemic and my boss sent me off to get tested for the virus, but it was negative,” says Jarrod.
However, his loss of appetite and weight loss continued and on a particularly bad day when he was having trouble breathing, he called an ambulance.
Initially the paramedics couldn’t find anything wrong with him but when he mentioned he had coughed up some blood alarm bells rang, and Jarrod was taken into hospital.
“An Xray found a tumour on my left lung, and they kept me in. That was the only time in my life that I had ever stayed in a hospital,” he says.
Jarrod’s original chemotherapy and immunotherapy took place at Salisbury Hospital which is a journey of around 45 minutes each way.
But two years ago he was handed over to the mobile cancer care unit parked up at the doctor’s surgery in Gillingham, just 15 minutes from his home.
Some of Jarrod’s treatment has now gone to tablet form but he attends the mobile unit every three weeks for blood tests and intravenous chemotherapy.
The unit is just so personal. It’s less formal and the location is so convenient. It’s ideal for me as it’s much closer to where I live. It takes me hardly any time at all to get there.
“I used to find the parking at the hospital horrendous even with a disabled blue badge.
“For me the level of service on the mobile unit is second to none. Until you have tried it you don’t realise how good it is,” says Jarrod.
“I was slightly nervous when I originally changed from the hospital to the unit. I think when you find yourself in this situation you question everything because you just want the best for yourself. You want to give yourself the best chance.
“But immediately I could see that the unit is the same as the hospital. The staff are trained in the same way and all the equipment and treatment is the same.
“The only real difference is that the mobile unit is a much more relaxed environment. There are tea and coffee facilities, and I always recognise the odd one or two regulars. Most people are usually up for a chat. The environment encourages that.
“Sometimes I get tired of telling my story over and over to strangers. It’s so much easier talking to people who know you.
“The staff know me on the unit. There’s always at least one nurse there that I have dealt with before.
“I think the hospitals do an amazing job but when you are on a ward with 20 beds or so you can sometimes feel a little lost.
“I never feel rushed or hurried when I am having my treatment on the unit. I tend to watch a YouTube video, if it’s quiet. It can be really relaxing and peaceful. It’s easy to just switch off and escape into another world.
“It’s definitely not a conveyor belt. I always know I am getting 100 per cent attention from the staff. I never feel like a number in a queue and that’s important when you are going through the mill.”
Jarrod says he still has good and bad days both physically and mentally.
“Luckily my three-year-old spaniel Wesley keeps me on my toes,” he says.
“He gives me a reason to get up in the morning and to go outside. There’s no choice about it. You just have to get on with it.
“For me, the mobile unit goes a long way to making a difficult situation easier to handle.”
Sometimes you just want to be wrapped up in a great big comfort blanket and that’s what the mobile unit does for me.
The former prison governor was 58 when he was told he had terminal lung cancer in the summer of 2020 after weeks of putting his symptoms down to Covid.
“I began to feel unwell at the beginning of the pandemic and my boss sent me off to get tested for the virus, but it was negative,” says Jarrod.
However, his loss of appetite and weight loss continued and on a particularly bad day when he was having trouble breathing, he called an ambulance.
Initially the paramedics couldn’t find anything wrong with him but when he mentioned he had coughed up some blood alarm bells rang, and Jarrod was taken into hospital.
“An Xray found a tumour on my left lung, and they kept me in. That was the only time in my life that I had ever stayed in a hospital,” he says.
Jarrod’s original chemotherapy and immunotherapy took place at Salisbury Hospital which is a journey of around 45 minutes each way.
But two years ago he was handed over to the mobile cancer care unit parked up at the doctor’s surgery in Gillingham, just 15 minutes from his home.
Some of Jarrod’s treatment has now gone to tablet form but he attends the mobile unit every three weeks for blood tests and intravenous chemotherapy.
The unit is just so personal. It’s less formal and the location is so convenient. It’s ideal for me as it’s much closer to where I live. It takes me hardly any time at all to get there.
“I used to find the parking at the hospital horrendous even with a disabled blue badge.
“For me the level of service on the mobile unit is second to none. Until you have tried it you don’t realise how good it is,” says Jarrod.
“I was slightly nervous when I originally changed from the hospital to the unit. I think when you find yourself in this situation you question everything because you just want the best for yourself. You want to give yourself the best chance.
“But immediately I could see that the unit is the same as the hospital. The staff are trained in the same way and all the equipment and treatment is the same.
“The only real difference is that the mobile unit is a much more relaxed environment. There are tea and coffee facilities, and I always recognise the odd one or two regulars. Most people are usually up for a chat. The environment encourages that.
“Sometimes I get tired of telling my story over and over to strangers. It’s so much easier talking to people who know you.
“The staff know me on the unit. There’s always at least one nurse there that I have dealt with before.
“I think the hospitals do an amazing job but when you are on a ward with 20 beds or so you can sometimes feel a little lost.
“I never feel rushed or hurried when I am having my treatment on the unit. I tend to watch a YouTube video, if it’s quiet. It can be really relaxing and peaceful. It’s easy to just switch off and escape into another world.
“It’s definitely not a conveyor belt. I always know I am getting 100 per cent attention from the staff. I never feel like a number in a queue and that’s important when you are going through the mill.”
Jarrod says he still has good and bad days both physically and mentally.
“Luckily my three-year-old spaniel Wesley keeps me on my toes,” he says.
“He gives me a reason to get up in the morning and to go outside. There’s no choice about it. You just have to get on with it.
“For me, the mobile unit goes a long way to making a difficult situation easier to handle.”
