My sister was diagnosed 14 weeks ago with stage 4 secondary breast cancer that has spread to both lungs and her clavicle. Biopsies have been done and they take weeks to come back. No treatment in place as consultant said biopsies were not big enough to grade. She has been passed around between two different hospitals and different departments in this time. She had 5 more biopsies taken on the 20th February, went for results yesterday and report for biopsies was only started two days ago. So three hour round trip for 5 mins with consultant to be told report not ready.
There seems to be no urgency at all. No one seems to care, worryingly she has just had her three month scan which shows that the cancer has now spread to her liver, it's been growing for the last 14 weeks and I worry that by the time they actually start the treatment, they will not be able to keep it at bay. I am trying to be positive for her but I feel so helpless.
Sorry to hear about what your sister is going through, many will relate and often reflect that the time between diagnosis and treatment is perhaps the most difficult of all. There is a lot of planning needed of course to try to make sure people get the best treatment. My wife had a number of biopsies before they eventually found the cancer and even then they were not certain as to the response to hormones.
Perhaps the most worrying for us was when things were actually being dealt with really quickly though I certainly recognize the bit in your message about being treated by different hospitals - some times it can seem they never talk to each other.
Your reaction however is perfectly normal - I know how helpless I feel at times but am glad to be able to reach our to friends on here.
<<hugs>>
Steve
Hi Liza,
I hope you are doing ok. I feel your pain, my mum has advanced bowel cancer and at times the communication from her care team has been really challenging. It's tricky because obviously the care received from the NHS is excellent however we have found that often departments don't coordinate very well with eachother and we have been brought into the hospital for treatment only to find it cancelled and brought in for scans that no one knew about. Most recently we had a 10 day stay in hospital where we really struggled to get clarity on what was happening and why, both my mum and I respond bette
r when we have a plan in place. Mum is now in a hospice and the care and communication has been fantastic, we are waiting for treatments but it doesn't feel so bad now we understand why. I am not sure if your sister has given you permission to be involved in the conversations with the consultants etc but I wouldn't be afraid to ask why and what is going on, if you are worried about the treatment delays try to discuss this with the care team. I hope things start moving soon for you sister
Thank you so much for taking the time to respond, it means such a lot. So sorry you and your mum have had issues too. I am so glad you mum is getting great care and that the communication is much better.
I truly do not understand why communication is such an issue between different departments let alone hospitals. My sister tells me everything that her consultant has said to her, good and bad after each appointment. She is an absolute star in my eyes. Diagnosed in November and first chemotherapy starts April - unless he tells her different today - results of echocardiogram should be back She is aware that each day it is growing inside her and spreading. So frustrating.
