“Paula?” said a very slim lady in a blue suit, clutching a clipboard. “You are next to see Dr Jordan. Which unfortunately means you are last” she turned and said to somebody sitting opposite me. On hearing this news the patient grunted and said “Every time have been here I have had to wait.” “I am sorry about that, but it is a very sensitive clinic”, said the clipboard lady diplomatically.
I thought back to a conversation that I had with my friend Bubbles, just after I had my ultrasound. “Until you got this I have never really appreciated what it is like to have cancer and what people have to go through” she said. “You know one of the things that has struck me is the waiting.” “I know”, I replied quickly. “Waiting at all levels. Waiting to be referred; waiting for tests; waiting for results; waiting for treatment ... waiting to be seen ...”
