Waiting lists for radiotherapy

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Hi all, I have been told that my radiotherapy for breast cancer will not start until possibly another 10 months. It should have started 1 month ago. This is because of such long waiting lists in Leicester. So, I have been ringing around the whole of England, to see if I can go there instead and sooner. Up to now I've had no luck. There is a possibility of another county helping but may still be up to 5 months more to wait. Obviously, this is unexpected and adds to the worry, which we on here understand. I never ever expected this to happen. Just thought the NHS would be there when I needed it. To go private is over £15,000. Well out of my reach. What are other people's experiences? I'm going to put this to my local MP, just feel I need to be proactive. If you have similar circumstances, I can write as a group. I just feel that it's not only about myself. There will be people worse off than me but I need to do something to raise the awareness of how bad the treatment waiting times are. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Tia

Missy219 15 hours ago

Hello,

I’m sorry to hear your waiting time for radiotherapy - which other county have you called? I’m in Lancashire and they serve the whole of lancashire and Cumbria for radiotherapy as only one hub. I know people have travelled 1-2 hours every day for their sessions.

Im due to start radiotherapy next week as preventative treatment - is yours as preventative treatment?
I have waited 10 weeks but I had 3 surgeries in 10 days so I wasn’t fussed as extra time to recover. I think they try and start it 6-8 weeks after round here.

I got told at my planning meeting last week that they serve over 200 patients every day! I couldn’t believe it.

I have found the NHS amazing in the north west and treatment times exceptional.
I completely understand your worries and fears though and I would be the same as you if my waiting time was 10 months.

Good luck with going to the local MP. I hope you get some treatment sooner xx

Wonderwoman 123 15 hours ago in reply to Missy219

Hi, thanks for reply. Glad to hear you're getting treated well. I've tried almost every county in England. Mine is for er positive breast cancer. Had surgery in January so should have started radio a while ago.leicester is diabolical for waiting times. Good luck to you and I will continue to look.

latchbrook 8 hours ago

Hi Wonderwoman 123 and a very warm welcome to the online community which I hope you'll find is both an informative and supportive place to be.

I’m Anne, one of the Community Champions here on the Online Community, and I was diagnosed with breast cancer in April 2022. I had surgery followed by adjuvant chemotherapy and radiotherapy. My radiotherapy didn't start until after my chemotherapy so about 9 months after surgery.

The online community is divided into different support groups so I'm going to recommend that you join the breast cancer group, which is a great place to ask questions, share experiences and get support.

To join, just click on the link I've created and, once you've joined, you can start a new post in the same way as you did here and join in with existing conversations by clicking on 'reply'.

It would be great if you could put something about your diagnosis and treatment into your profile as it really helps others when replying to you and also when looking for someone on a similar pathway. It also means that you don't have to keep repeating yourself. To do this click on your username and then select 'Profile'. You can amend it at any time and if you're not sure what to write you can take a look at mine by clicking on my username.

"Never regret a day in your life, good days give you happiness, bad days give you experience"

Wonderwoman 123 1 hour ago in reply to latchbrook

Thankyou, I will do that