Depression and Cancer

This is troubling to read . Guess work at best if no examination was done . 
I can also imagine a lot of people are having issues now with covid and accessing GP appointments in person . 

So good having you on the boards though as you have a lot of experience and knowledge!

court 

I had the same Kath. I was treated for piles. My Doctor even complained about them years ago as it was hard for her to examine me. To put it bluntly. I pushed it back in. Why didn’t she think it could have been a tumour!
I had mine years. It was enormous and I was having an awful time just trying to eat food that I could process. I was just lucky it was big but not aggressively spreading. The Bowel Screening picked me up or I would have blocked and been an emergency! 

unbelievable- It must cost surgeries money to send patients for tests and procedures etc. My Dr should have sent me for a colonoscopy or a *sigmoidoscopy ( *which checks for cancer in lower intestine ) but failed to do so. The cost to the NHS must have been colosal because of this failure.

I know Kath 

I was told at fifty I had terrible piles and given the medication. I was told that the NHS didn’t treat them. So I tried private there was a new treatment with bands or similar but it was thousands and I had other commitments. So I just kept using prepH and pushing the thing back in.
Weirdly tho I had no pain.
By the time I was sixty six it was a 10 cm growth!!!!  That wasn’t the roots of the thing  

Every test I had since the bowel screening words like huge, enormous and massive just made me feel terrible and stupid  like really why hadn’t I got it sorted 

My cancer was a very slow mover but I had over a decade of struggling with digesting and toilet issues. 
Im not sure GPS have the required training to diagnose it  

In hindsight I wish I’d used my credit card and had a private appointment it would have saved years of discomfort and thousands of pounds I’ve cost the NHS 

So my story is the same as yours if my GP had referred me sixteen years ago it could of been removed in a colonoscopy 

so sorry Artsie Ann to hear what happened to you. Thank God your cancer was slow growing.  You shouldn't feel stupid. You, like me are a lay person not a Doctor who we feel we can depend on and trust. At that stage before the ops I also had no pain. Apparently my tumour was the size of a walnut and had grown inside me for a long time.

Best wishes.

KathH2

Thanks Kath.

I don’t know where all that came from I just feel so cross about it. I haven’t spoken to a soul about my anger towards that doctor.

It took a lot for me to go to her and the way she dismissed me I never had the courage to go back to bare all. Just kept telling myself it was piles! 
I wonder how many patients are out there now  have the same.

Thank goodness we are the other side of it now. 

Take care Kath 

Along with Dr's misdiagnosing  I also remember being told after the sigmoidoscopy three horrific things. The Dr performing the procedure told me 1. I had cancer, 2 they didn't know if it had spread and 3 I'd have a stoma bag for life as the tumour was so low down. I felt I'd been hit by a track. Her people skills were appalling. I know I needed to know the truth but it was brutal how she told me. I suppose as with everyone some people have these skills and others don't. It's just being told such news should have been handled better. 

Kath

Im sorry that happened to you  She should not be working in that field.
Maybe a lab would be a more suitable  place for her.
That’s unbelievable,

What a bolt that was for you I think I would have crumbled.

I had the most sensitive care I could wish for. They were caring and gave me the facts leaving out the full diagnosis for my consultant surgeon. 

hi Artsie Ann I'm glad you had a good experience. My Dr in the hospital shouldn't have been working with people. My Consultant Surgeon however was very surprised I already knew the facts. He was marvellous- sensitive, supportive and informative whilst explaining everything. He always answered all my questions and never rushed me out unlike the mental health Services in Erith and Sidcup who give you a scant half an hour and refuse to answer any further questions once your time is up.

Hi Kath. 
It’s a good thing that your Consultant treated to with empathy and sensitivity. It’s such an anxious time we need time to process the information and what the treatment plan is. 
How are you feeling now?