The nurses are wonderful and, I must say, being able to access the bus has really made treatment so much more tolerable and a lot more convenient.
“My family begged me to go to the doctor, but I was too stubborn at first”, admitted Jill Horton. So, when Jill, 72, was finally diagnosed in September 2022 with lung and secondary bone cancer she was shocked to the core.
“Although I was told I was on the two-week pathway”, said Jill, “it took another seven weeks until mid-November before I saw a doctor. I had seen the scans, I knew I had cancer, so the wait for confirmation and to start treatment was an extremely difficult time”.
Jill, who lives with her husband Joe in Burgh-le-Marsh, near the seaside town of Skegness, initially had to travel for treatment to the Pilgrim Hospital in Boston, Lincolnshire, a long 50-mile round trip from home. The journey, along with the waiting time, added to the extreme stress the couple were under.
“We were both petrified in the beginning”, Jill recalls, “Joe lost his first wife to lung cancer. He was terrified of losing me and being left alone”.
However, after the initial delay, the treatment plan took off at speed. “I thought Christmas would delay things further but no. The cancer was too far gone for an operation, but the doctors immediately put me on immunotherapy treatment to stop its progress, or at least slow the spread right down”. Jill continued: “The doctor couldn’t give me a life expectancy, I just had to wait and see if the daily tablets worked”.
After only two visits to the Pilgrim Hospital, Jill was asked if she would like to continue her monthly appointments on the Hope for Tomorrow mobile cancer care unit called ‘Elaine’, on one of the days it travels to Skegness, a short ten-minute trip from her home.
“I said: ‘Yes please, thank you very much!’” laughed Jill, “the bus [mobile unit] makes treatment so much easier. Joe takes me – although I could easily go on my own – but he likes to look after me. Even with my terrible backache I can get up the steps but there’s a stairlift if you are disabled.”
The staff are just the best ever! The bus [mobile unit] driver is a lovely chap – he does my ‘weigh-in’ when I arrive. On board it’s cosy, but you can also have privacy if needed.
There’s no waiting time, so I can get my monthly injections and collect my prescription. The nurses are wonderful and, I must say, being able to access the bus [mobile unit] has really made treatment so much more tolerable and a lot more convenient”.
Never having been a smoker, Jill doesn’t know why she got lung cancer but says she had bouts of bronchitis as well as whooping cough as a child.
Jill’s initial shock diagnosis was however followed by something close to a miracle when in May 2023, Jill had a PET scan to see how her treatment was faring. Jill was astonished: “All the cancer in my lungs, lymph nodes, spine and pelvic area was gone! The grape-like lumps in my lungs and chest – gone! There was nothing – zilch! The consultant was equally gobsmacked! He had never seen anything like it!”.
Another scan in August once again showed Jill as being clear of cancer although she is coughing again and still suffers from painful backache. The consultant says this may be the result of collapsing scar tissue, so they are going to conduct further investigations.
In the meantime, Jill and Joe are enjoying life to the fullest by visiting friends all over the country as well as welcoming them to their home. Their families are also a priority, and they see them as often as busy working lives allow. Jill explains: “When I was diagnosed, we booked everything we wanted to do. I’m more happy-go-lucky than Joe – he’s worried about the future – but we look after each other”.
Jill notes how much the Hope for Tomorrow mobile cancer care unit has helped her through this traumatic time. “I’m so lucky. The Hope for Tomorrow bus [mobile unit] (and its wonderful NHS staff) has been one of the best things that’s happened to me in the last year – which to be honest – has been a bit of a rollercoaster!”.
The nurses are wonderful and, I must say, being able to access the bus has really made treatment so much more tolerable and a lot more convenient.
“My family begged me to go to the doctor, but I was too stubborn at first”, admitted Jill Horton. So, when Jill, 72, was finally diagnosed in September 2022 with lung and secondary bone cancer she was shocked to the core.
“Although I was told I was on the two-week pathway”, said Jill, “it took another seven weeks until mid-November before I saw a doctor. I had seen the scans, I knew I had cancer, so the wait for confirmation and to start treatment was an extremely difficult time”.
Jill, who lives with her husband Joe in Burgh-le-Marsh, near the seaside town of Skegness, initially had to travel for treatment to the Pilgrim Hospital in Boston, Lincolnshire, a long 50-mile round trip from home. The journey, along with the waiting time, added to the extreme stress the couple were under.
“We were both petrified in the beginning”, Jill recalls, “Joe lost his first wife to lung cancer. He was terrified of losing me and being left alone”.
However, after the initial delay, the treatment plan took off at speed. “I thought Christmas would delay things further but no. The cancer was too far gone for an operation, but the doctors immediately put me on immunotherapy treatment to stop its progress, or at least slow the spread right down”. Jill continued: “The doctor couldn’t give me a life expectancy, I just had to wait and see if the daily tablets worked”.
After only two visits to the Pilgrim Hospital, Jill was asked if she would like to continue her monthly appointments on the Hope for Tomorrow mobile cancer care unit called ‘Elaine’, on one of the days it travels to Skegness, a short ten-minute trip from her home.
“I said: ‘Yes please, thank you very much!’” laughed Jill, “the bus [mobile unit] makes treatment so much easier. Joe takes me – although I could easily go on my own – but he likes to look after me. Even with my terrible backache I can get up the steps but there’s a stairlift if you are disabled.”
The staff are just the best ever! The bus [mobile unit] driver is a lovely chap – he does my ‘weigh-in’ when I arrive. On board it’s cosy, but you can also have privacy if needed.
There’s no waiting time, so I can get my monthly injections and collect my prescription. The nurses are wonderful and, I must say, being able to access the bus [mobile unit] has really made treatment so much more tolerable and a lot more convenient”.
Never having been a smoker, Jill doesn’t know why she got lung cancer but says she had bouts of bronchitis as well as whooping cough as a child.
Jill’s initial shock diagnosis was however followed by something close to a miracle when in May 2023, Jill had a PET scan to see how her treatment was faring. Jill was astonished: “All the cancer in my lungs, lymph nodes, spine and pelvic area was gone! The grape-like lumps in my lungs and chest – gone! There was nothing – zilch! The consultant was equally gobsmacked! He had never seen anything like it!”.
Another scan in August once again showed Jill as being clear of cancer although she is coughing again and still suffers from painful backache. The consultant says this may be the result of collapsing scar tissue, so they are going to conduct further investigations.
In the meantime, Jill and Joe are enjoying life to the fullest by visiting friends all over the country as well as welcoming them to their home. Their families are also a priority, and they see them as often as busy working lives allow. Jill explains: “When I was diagnosed, we booked everything we wanted to do. I’m more happy-go-lucky than Joe – he’s worried about the future – but we look after each other”.
Jill notes how much the Hope for Tomorrow mobile cancer care unit has helped her through this traumatic time. “I’m so lucky. The Hope for Tomorrow bus [mobile unit] (and its wonderful NHS staff) has been one of the best things that’s happened to me in the last year – which to be honest – has been a bit of a rollercoaster!”.
