A little lost pls help.

Hi ChrisYorks welcome to the group, but sorry you find yourself here. Going through these tests is a very stressful time, and it is hard to continue with normal life, whilst all this is happening in the background. There is no easy answer to how to deal with this unfortunately. Some people decide to carry on as usual at work, as a distraction. Do you tell your boss or not is really up to you. Do you have a good relationship with your employer?  The thing to remember is, once you’ve told them, there is no un telling them.  The reason why I say this is because people don’t always know how to treat people who are undergoing tests for cancer, or have been diagnosed with cancer. There is no reason to tell your employer until you know yourself what is going on. 

I think if you have private insurance I would start this sooner rather than later. You can still have your PET scan that is already planned. 

Were they able to give you any further information today when they rang? Did they say why they have requested the PET? 

Thanks for the reply.  No specifics although we're at pains to say still at the diagnosis stage.  Did mention they have found a mass in the centre of my chest, although previously (after initial x-ray) had said lungs were clear so I'm a bit muddled up.

Regards private would welcome any experience of NHS / private route and the benefits of either /or.  Not sure how it works to run them in parallel particularly at this early stage.

Thanks.

Hi Chris,

Back in January 2018 I was in exactly the same position you are now in.

I went to my GP because I couldn't do handwriting any more. Otherwise I felt totally fine. My GP did some tests, realised I was anything but fine, and instead of sending me home with a prescription for antibiotics I got sent straight off to hospital. I had a brain tumour.

I had a week of tests and assorted scans at the NHS hospital, and apart from being a ward with snorers I have to say my NHS experience was first class.

At this point I found out exactly how bad a pickle I was in: the brain tumour was secondary to lung cancer. This was when I decided to use my medical insurance and go private. I was allowed to go home to collect a few things because I had gone in empty handed and to sort out my health insurance claim. From there it was back to the NHS hospital to get discharged and readmitted (same hospital different floor) as a private patient in a private ward with my own room, my own nurse, nicer food, TV, proper wi-fi, etc. Most importantly going private I got all my info directly from the surgeon and not second hand paraphrased by a junior doctor (no disrespect intended.)

Right now you are being diagnosed. That is something the NHS is really good at, and the stats for that are better now than ever. Stay NHS until you know what you're dealing with. When the diagnosis is in and if you're looking at treatment the key question for you is "When?" and the answer you need is "Now". Going private cuts out treatment delays and also just happens to make a horrible scary experience a bit more tolerable.

Wishing you all the best, kind regards
Steve

Hi Chris i am going to take @StevePr advice i think - i did start with the NHS for my first diagnosis (womb cancer in sept) and made the mistake of flipping between the two during the diagnosis stage which got messy and slowed things down. They found lung nodules at the same time so i have had my womb cancer treatment and lung diagnosis done with the NHS; when i get my lung wedge resection results (had the op a few days ago) I will then prob switch to private just to access things that our Trust is struggling to meet targets on and for that bit of comfort (i was discharged into an Uber on a cold snowy night this weekend, two days early and without half my meds; I can’t blame anyone given the bed crisis that was visible but there comes a point when self care is important after years of insurance contributions)