My husband spent some time in A and E between Xmas and New Year. He has been unwell since his second line chemo ended at the end of October. 3rd line treatment was brought forward by our Private Hospital Oncologist Consultant at the behest of the nurses who were not happy with my husbands condition when he went for a routine portacath flush. The GP and Hospice At Home nurses have been very good. Our Oncologist, despite email updates being sent to his secretary appears to ignore referrals from both GP and NHS emergency team. The private consultant is ,'on holiday' and one particularly abrupt response from his PA was that he would review hubbies latest NHS emergency CT scans 'if appropriate'. This creates problems as NHS consultants and registrars dont have access to his private hospital scans and notes but we do insist on copies of scan reports and blood tests so were able to discuss those with emergency staff. We only went 'private' because his cancer was discovered via a check up from his employers health insurance team during a routine annual check up. The Private hospital is in a lovely place less than 5 miles from our house and the nursing staff who administer the chemo are lovely but the unit is only open during standard office hours on weekdays only and completely shut down all over xmas and New year.
My current problem is what to tell our respective families. I did not want to spoil xmas and New Year for everyone but the latest CT scans do show a rapid progression of the cancer even from the pre treatment scan in December. Our first grandchild is due in about 4 weeks and our son has just started a new job, our daughter is in a job that is particularly stressful and busy over xmas and New Year. He has been admitted to a local hospice in the grounds of our main NHS hospital at the kind insistence of the liaison nurse to try to sort out his symptoms . I have told everyone it's a unit to sort out and observe his reactions to various medications and stabilise him which is true. I just haven't used the word 'hospice' What do l tell them and when? He responded so well to the second line treatment that everyone was cheered up by his winning the battle. We are not winning anymore. Sorry for the lengthy post. It helps organise my thoughts.
