So on Wednesday 23 August I take the short ride to my local hospital. The four hours I had to wait for surgery went reasonably quickly as I was visited by an HCA, the anaesthetist, an SHO and an ENT surgeon. It seemed like I was asked the same questions over and over about my general health and lifestyle, but at least I got a clearer idea of what was going to happen. The purpose of the surgery was to do a panendoscopy…
It's hard to imagine that all of which follows took place within the space of two short weeks.
Friday afternoon, 18 August, I rocked up at my local hospital to see the ENT surgeon. He asked me about my symptoms, had a feel of my lump and stuck a camera up my nose to look at my throat. He had a junior doctor observing him, so it was quite reassuring when I heard him say "The X looks ok, the Y looks OK".
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So my GP tells me I will need to be referred to an ENT specialist, with "more or less urgency". Next day her secretary calls to say the hospital need to see me within two weeks, so I have to call her back if I haven't heard within a few days. I immediately Google "urgent referrals" and learn all about the two-week pathway for "suspected cancer". Blind panic ensues, until I see that only 10% of people referred under this…
"I don't feel great today, my glands are up"....
