Worry

At my last appointment with my specialist I was told that my IGM levels were going up and that there was a possibility that I may have to have some more treatment in the Autumn. We scheduled another appointment for mid-September when we would discuss the results of the blood tests that were run that day.And then today...through the post I received a new appointment card (with my name and hospital number) on which someone had written the date and time of an appointmet next week; August 8th to be exact.

I am, to put it mildly, perplexed and not a little pissed off. No letter from the consultant explaining why there is a need to bring my appointment forward, no phone call from the secretary asking if this date (at such short notice) is convenient, (it isn't.) no common bloody courtesy whatsoever. Let's be blunt about this...it is not going to be good news. Doctors and hospitals do not move at such giddy speed for a routine cataract operation or to tell you that all is well and there is no need to worry. No. This can only mean that the blood results were not good and we need to get on with some treatment pdq. Christ on a bike, the cancer might have turned from the benign one I was diagnosed with into something altogether more malicious, (like multiple myeloma for example) my IGM might have spiked to levels where urgent action is required or they might simply want to recommend that we start the treatment we were discussing a little bit earlier. The point is I DON'T KNOW.

I touched on this area in an earlier post. The medical profession seems to me to be divorcing itself from one of the founding principles of the NHS, patient welfare. Communication with cancer patients is absolutely crucial as our lives are quite literally at stake. Yet we are told of our illness with clinical efficiency and sent appointments through the post without any explanation. The effect of this is to cause patients a degree of worry and stress that they could simply do without. Does no one actually think about what getting an unexpected appointment through the post could do to a patient's state of mind? The simple fact is that some basic priciples of patient care are being neglected.I shall go to my appointment (having taken a day off work) and for the first time ever I shall let the consultant know how I feel in no uncertain terms. It's not right to treat people like this.