messages especially for our dear friend homealone,Tessa. ️

Thanks Johnty

Good view of garden, lawn, shrubbery and some nice old trees. Too cold to go out and in and inspect but there is yellow mimosa in flower, various shrubs with winter colour and bulbs coming up. A clump of hellebores and primroses in the grass.

Tessa

dear Tessa, it’s lovely to hear you have a pleasant view from your bedroom window, I know at my hospice all the bedrooms face into a courtyard garden. How are you feeling at the moment ? I hope you are more at ease now you are being well cared for and no longer having to experience the stresses and strains of hospital visits, only update us when you feel able to do so, it’s enough to know you are reading our messages of love and compassion for your situation.

Dear Tessa, I hope you have had a peaceful day, I think of you often. 
i hope you are receiving comfort from being in the hospice and that you are able to get solace from any visits you are able to receive from your friends.

Hi Tessa

How’s the cake? My hospice always has plenty of good cake on offer. I hope yours does too and that you have the strength to eat it. 

We had glorious sunshine today in Kent. I sat in front of the window as the sun streamed in and it felt soo good. The daffodils in the garden are very nearly in bud and the tulips are not so very far behind them. I was out in the woods with Noodle at the weekend and saw a huge patch of snowdrops and winter aconites. It made me think of you. 

Lots of love

xxx

Hello Daloni, didn't realise you lived in Kent! I am also in Kent - not far from Dover (Walmer) and am currently being treated at The Chaucer in Canterbury (private through company Health Insurance). However, will probably be switching back to NHS in April as insurance will only fund treatment for 12 months. This means treatment at Canterbury Hospital

I’m picturing you and all of us as walking through snowdrops.

Hi John Boy2

I’m up the other end of Kent in Sevenaoaks. I get my treatment in central London. I was referred first to Guys and St Thomas’s as the nature and complexity of the initial diagnosis meant I needed the expertise of the regional cancer centre. I switched over to UCLH where they have a very good women’s cancer department and a fantastic clinical trials department. My local hospital would have been Maidstone and while in theory it’s nearer, it’s actually easier to get to central London.

I hope you’ll meet good people at the Canterbury Hospital. I suspect the main difference you’ll notice between nhs and private care will be the waiting. Oncology clinics in the NHS are often double booked because of the sheer number of patients versus the number of staff. 

Have you had the chance to get to the seaside in these last couple of sunny days we’ve had? There’s nothing quite like the seaside on a sunny winter day, I think 

xxx

Hello Daloni - not sure how to pm you. Only reason I am private is to get Tagrisso which is not licensed as a Stage 1 treatment for mutated NSCLC - only as a Stage 2 (when TKI's such as Afatanib etc. no longer work) - but will probably have to start on them when I switch back. It's that or self fund to the tune of about £80,000 a year.

As for getting to the seaside I live about a mile from the seafront so am down there regularly. In summer there are some nice pubs to sit outside and have a few cool drinks - there is a big sitting area outside The Port Arms/Kings Head pubs. Have a trip down there when the weather is good, and enjoy a stroll along the pier.

John

Hi John Boy2

I have just accepted your friendship request so we should now be able to pm

xx

Just to let you know I will no longer be checking the forums and I have turned off notifications. Exchanging relevant information has been useful, but this thread has drifted away from messages relevant to me. Im too tired to keep up correspondance anyway.

Hope you do well on your various journeys.

Tessa