I am a newbie here, with terminal lung cancer, diagnosed last October and not receiving any treatment, as I was told any treatment would be ineffective, and make me more ill than the cancer. I did receive two sessions of radiotherapy in December to help ease my breathing and it worked a treat.
I am quite lucky really, as I have only occasional pain and some discomfort in my chest, but the biggest problem is difficulty breathing and loss of appetite, mostly caused by everything tasting foul. I have lost a lot of weight but I'm still hanging in there and think I am doing well overall as I don't need any help other than fetching and carrying.
I only have one repeat prescription but am having problems getting this particular prescription. I won't bore you with the details, but we had exactly the same problem in March which was solved intelligently by the pharmacist and with little delay. April was a total disaster, and the pharmacist was as unhelpful as possible. The pharmacist blames the surgery and the surgery blames the pharmacist. I don't care who made the mistake, mistakes happen, I just want to know why the pharmacist did nothing about it until I queried why I hadn't received my prescription after two weeks, but the response made me I wish I hadn't! The prescription is just for food supplements, to help me regain some of my lost weight, so it isn't exactly 'vital to life' Should I just do without as I find the whole situation depressing and the attitude of the pharmacist is dragging me down emotionally and I wonder if it is worth the hassle. On the bright side, the pharmacist has been quite efficient in providing other ''one off' medicines.
I can't change pharmacists as all the local ones are all under the same company and looking at Google reviews, there are others experiencing the same problem as myself.
Hi and a warm welcome to the Online Community although I am so sorry to hear about your diagnosis and the challenges you are facing with getting your prescription.
A cancer diagnosis like this can be stressful and challenging in so many ways but I do hope you find the community a safe place to get support and ask your questions.
The New to Community is like our reception desk where we can signpost you to our various cancer support groups and other services so can I recommend that you consider joining our supportive Lung Cancer and Living with incurable cancer - incurable patients only groups. These will be safe places to talk to others who may have a similar diagnosis, treatment experience, to ask questions and get support.
If you'd like to connect in with a group click on the Green (Bold) links I have created above. Then once the group page opens click on the black banner that says [click to join] at the bottom, or the [Join] button under "Group tools."
You can then introduce yourself by putting up a ‘new post’ by clicking in the box near the top right with + New or + (Depending on the device you are using) and you are ready to go.
You could copy and paste the text from this post into your new post and as always you can reply to existing ‘Discussions’ by click [reply].
The Macmillan Support Line is open 8am-8pm (timings may differ across services) 7 days a week on 0808 808 00 00 or via Webchat and Email too. This service provides cancer information, practical information, emotional support, benefits/financial guidance or just a listening ear and our Cancer Nurse Team in our Ask an Expert section helpful but do allow a few working days for a reply.
Talking to people face to face when on a cancer journey (patient or family) can be very helpful but during these strange times it’s not that available but do check to see if any Local Macmillan Support in your area has opened up. Do also check out for a local Maggie's Centre in your area as these folks are amazing and provide support for all the family.
Always around if you need further help in navigating the community.
All the very best.
