On July 4th I was back at Frimley to have both my CT and MRI scans to see how the chemotherapy had affected the tumour in my bowel and what the next step would be. Thankfully I managed to arrange these to both take place on the same day. Due to requiring contrast in the scans, I had to have them a certain time frame apart, so the CT scan was at 10:30 and then the MRI at 12:30.
What I will have to point out is I arranged this appointment myself, I did have a missed call from the generic Frimley Hospital number, but no voicemail left, so I called the cancer care nurses to see if it was them first before finding out it would have been the CT department. I will write separately about my experience with the NHS and my struggles with the departmentalisation of the service. But leave my issues with the scans here.
As the Frimley MDT meetings are held on a Monday, I knew I would not be discussed on the 5th July, but I phoned the nursing team that week to confirm I had done both scans on the 4th, and was advised that they should have the results to discuss me on the 12th July. Alas the 12th came and went, and when I called again was told that my CT scan showed a reduction on the tumour (so some good news) but that I still needed to have a MRI scan, to which I pointed out I’d already advised I had done at the same time as the CT scan. The nurse advised they would chase the scanning department up for the results, but I never heard back so chased again a couple of days later to check they definitely now had the results for me to be discussed on the 19th July, finally it was confirmed that they had the results. It was just a delay I could have done without, only for the stress of having a delay but also having to admin my life.
Thankfully I was discussed on the 19th, the following morning I received a call from one of the consultant surgeons who advised that they were referring me to the surgeon team in Basingstoke who have a specialist unit for bowel cancer operations, where they would inject chemotherapy into my abdominal cavity at the time of surgery. I was however warned that if Basingstoke were to accept me, there could be a long waiting time and I may need more chemotherapy. However if they didn’t accept me then I would have an operation at Frimley around the end of August. So now it would be a case of waiting to hear from Basingstoke Hospital.
