Good afternoon, a person close to me has just received a diagnosis of anaplastic thyroidal carcinoma. Despite this being a very rapidly spreading cancer, she has now been given a 2 week waiting time fly NHS Wales for the scan and diagnostic to be confirmed. Is there any way to speed this up, e.g., by approaching specialists directly and paying privately)?
Thank you very much
Good Morning James66,
Welcome to our online community and thanks for posting your question. My name is Amy and I am one of the Cancer Information Nurse Specialists on the Macmillan Support Line.
We’re sorry to hear someone close to you has just received a diagnosis of anaplastic thyroid cancer (ATC). It’s natural to want to speed things up. Many people find this the most worrying and difficult time, when they know cancer is likely, but more tests are needed before their treatment plan can be decided then started.
Contacting the scanning department and asking to be put on the cancellation list can sometimes help speed this part along.
Results are usually then discussed at the multidisciplinary team meeting (MDT), which often happens weekly. This is a necessary delay to make sure all information is gathered and the right treatment can be planned for the cancer type and the individual – considering things like national guidelines as well as age, general health and other potential long-term conditions/co-morbidities.
Private treatment has a place and can be great for some people in certain situations, but it can sometimes slow the process down, especially if the plan is to return to NHS for treatment.
Your friend can contact her clinical nurse specialist, if she has one, or the consultant via their secretary to ask about waiting times and whether accessing these tests privately could help. They should be able to guide her on whether this could be useful.
Sometimes using this time to get ready for potential treatment can help refocus energy on things that can be done while waiting - like focusing on nutrition, wellbeing and physical activity – rather than focusing on the waiting itself. There is a lot of research showing the benefits of prehabilitation on overall wellbeing but also how well people tolerate treatment and how well they recover when treatment finishes. Penny Brohn has lots of useful information and webinars available with a focus on cancer wellbeing.
We understand how difficult waiting is and often find we can help more by exploring these questions over the phone. If this is something you think would help, then please don’t hesitate to get in touch via our support line on 0808 808 0000. We are available 7 days a week, 8am-8pm.
Tenovus are a Wales based charity who also have a support line with nurses.
I hope this helps. Please don’t hesitate to get back in touch if you need any further information and support.
Best wishes,
Amy C, Cancer Information Nurse Specialist
Ref: AC/LM
