Recently diagnosed anal cancer

Anal cancer

Hi  and welcome to the Online Community, although I am so sorry to see the circumstance that brought you here and so sorry to hear that you have been diagnosed with Anal Cancer.

This is a hard time for you and all of the family but talking with people who are on the same journey will help a lot.

As my cancer journey was rather different but you may like to follow this link to our Anal cancer Fourm where you will connect with people who understand the journey you are on. You can ask the folks questions about treatments, what to expect and how to help you during this time.

I see you are faced with a long journey for treatment, this is challenging. During some of my treatments we had to do the 8-9 hr drive from Inverness to Glasgow and back, it’s just an added pressure. You need to check with your health board if they give any travel costs as this does mount up.

You may find our various Macmillan Support Line Services on 0808 808 00 00 to be very helpful covering Emotional Support and Practical Information. Clinical Information and Financial Support and Work Guidance mostly open 8.00 to 8.00 but check the link.

We also have our ‘Ask an Expert’ section where you can post questions to our mostly Volunteer Experts but please allow 2 working days to get a reply.

All the best.

Hi Jill and my welcome to the online community I am sorry to see you here but I hope that we will be able to make your journey a little bit easier by giving you help, advice and support and we are here anytime you need us to answer questions.

I am assuming that the Mount Vernon you mentioned in the one at Rickmansworth and if so I assume that you know that parking at the hospital can be a nightmare and they have issued the following guidance notes 

Concessionary parking for patients and visitors

The Trust supports the NHS ‘fair for all, not free for all’ principles for hospital car parking. To make regular trips to our hospitals easier, we provide the following concessions for patients and their primary visitors to reduce the costs:

• • £1 parking for disabled Blue Badge holders in either designated disabled parking spaces or if these are not available, in general parking spaces
• • Free 20-minute drop off points
• • Weekly visitor parking permits for £12 (equivalent to £1.71 per day)
• • Monthly visitor parking permits for £25 (equivalent of 82p per day)
• • Reduced cost parking for cancer patients at £1 a day
• • Patients who have arrived for their outpatient appointment to find it has been cancelled are entitled to free exit

Apply for your visitor permit through the ward you are attending, and once authorised, buy your concessionary ticket at the Car Parking Office at that hospital.

Disabled drivers have to pay a £1 flat fee to park on either site. In pay and display areas, pay £1 and display the ticket using the specified machines provided.

If parking in the ANPR (barrier) car parks, you will need to register your details with the Parking Department. Once this has been done, you can enter your car registration at the ‘Pay on Foot’ machine upon exit and pay the £1 fee.

Cancer patients at Mount Vernon now need to register to get a laminated permit which lasts for 6 months. Alongside this permit, you will now be able to pay £1 at the pay and display machines instead of purchasing tokens, or if parking in Car Park H (ANPR car park) you can enter your car registration at the machine before you exit and pay the £1 fee. Once this has been paid, you can just drive to the exit and the barrier will automatically lift.

Jill. If you are travelling by car make sure you take advantages of any concessions on offer.

If you're travelling from the North Hertfordshire area there is a very efficient voluntary hospital car service which will take you to and from your appointments unfortunately it is paid for service unless you are in receipt of certain benefits when you can reclaim the costs back from the hospital's cash office on the day. I can let you have details if you wish otherwise you could ask the treatment room or pals if they can give you details of any other voluntary car services in the area.

Once you join us over in the Anal cancer forum group the friendly members will eagerly share their experiences with you and give you lots of "tricks of the trade" to help along in your the journey.

Look forward to seeing you on the other side.

Ian

for information

Thanks Ian I knew about the parking but not the hospital car service so might investigate that for later and will check out AC group