I feel it’s crucial the community has access to these units.
Having lost her mother to breast cancer 25 years ago, Joanne Everley says she ‘kinda knew’ what to expect when she found a lump of her own at the age of 48.
“Well before it was properly diagnosed, I just knew,” says Joanne.
However, her own prognosis was more positive than her late mother’s as it was caught at Stage 3 and luckily hadn’t spread to her lymph nodes.
Surgery and radiotherapy followed with Joanne attending Airedale Hospital in West Yorkshire.
After her first four treatments at the Haematology and Oncology Day Unit within Airedale Hospital, Joanne was given the option to transfer to the mobile cancer care unit which parks up in Sainsbury’s carpark in Keighley, a five-minute walk from her home.
From the start, Joanne says she found the mobile unit to be ‘Just amazing.’
“It’s a win, win all round. For a cancer patient, waiting to be seen for 6-8 hours at a hospital is an extraordinary long time but there simply aren’t enough rooms or staff so this takes the pressure off there and the patients who are well enough to attend the mobile unit can be in and out in an hour sometimes. There’s very little sitting around. You know you are going to be seen quickly as there are only a handful of people waiting.
“It’s also great for people with mobility problems because there’s always someone, usually the driver, to help them on to the unit and get them settled.”
Joanne visits her local mobile unit ‘Linda’, based in Airedale.
No more hours upon hours of waiting at the hospital, I think it is a truly invaluable resource in the community.
A big advantage for Joanne when she was going through treatment was being able to get her PICC line flushed and cleaned once a week.
“That saved me a huge amount of money on Uber rides to and from the hospital. The unit is just so helpful on all levels, I feel it’s crucial the community has access to these units.” says Joanne.
“The nursing staff rotate, but they are all so lovely. I also got to see familiar faces among the patients when I was attending.”
Joanne finished her treatment in September this year and is now cancer free.
“I am starting to feel like my old self, getting back into the gym, walking and generally getting my life back in order,” she says.
She adds: “Thankfully the outcome is good for me, however, I remain supportive of the mobile units. I didn’t know anything about them until I needed to use one and I feel strongly that is something that needs to change.
I feel it’s crucial the community has access to these units.
Having lost her mother to breast cancer 25 years ago, Joanne Everley says she ‘kinda knew’ what to expect when she found a lump of her own at the age of 48.
“Well before it was properly diagnosed, I just knew,” says Joanne.
However, her own prognosis was more positive than her late mother’s as it was caught at Stage 3 and luckily hadn’t spread to her lymph nodes.
Surgery and radiotherapy followed with Joanne attending Airedale Hospital in West Yorkshire.
After her first four treatments at the Haematology and Oncology Day Unit within Airedale Hospital, Joanne was given the option to transfer to the mobile cancer care unit which parks up in Sainsbury’s carpark in Keighley, a five-minute walk from her home.
From the start, Joanne says she found the mobile unit to be ‘Just amazing.’
“It’s a win, win all round. For a cancer patient, waiting to be seen for 6-8 hours at a hospital is an extraordinary long time but there simply aren’t enough rooms or staff so this takes the pressure off there and the patients who are well enough to attend the mobile unit can be in and out in an hour sometimes. There’s very little sitting around. You know you are going to be seen quickly as there are only a handful of people waiting.
“It’s also great for people with mobility problems because there’s always someone, usually the driver, to help them on to the unit and get them settled.”
No more hours upon hours of waiting at the hospital, I think it is a truly invaluable resource in the community.
A big advantage for Joanne when she was going through treatment was being able to get her PICC line flushed and cleaned once a week.
“That saved me a huge amount of money on Uber rides to and from the hospital. The unit is just so helpful on all levels, I feel it’s crucial the community has access to these units.” says Joanne.
“The nursing staff rotate, but they are all so lovely. I also got to see familiar faces among the patients when I was attending.”
Joanne finished her treatment in September this year and is now cancer free.
“I am starting to feel like my old self, getting back into the gym, walking and generally getting my life back in order,” she says.
She adds: “Thankfully the outcome is good for me, however, I remain supportive of the mobile units. I didn’t know anything about them until I needed to use one and I feel strongly that is something that needs to change.
