Hi new to the group, my friend has ovarian cancer she has had debulking and bowel surgery and most cancer has been removed although they have had complications and now she has fistula, leakage from bowel. She needs another op to rectify it caused bad infection and ended up with a week in hospital. Surgeon says he needs to wait 4 weeks or more until he can operate but cancer nurses don't want chemo to be delayed any longer.
Has anyone experienced this or have any idea what is the best option. We don't have results yet it's been said possibly stage 3
Should I be helping her making a complaint as they have caused this in the op and apologised twice.
Can I help to push things along and get best outcome for her.
Also would she be entitled to any benefits bar ssp
Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you
Hi Ange80 and a very warm welcome to the online community which I hope you'll find is both an informative and supportive place to be.
It sounds like your friend has been having a difficult time since she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer and it can be difficult to know what to do when faced with treatment choices. She should have been allocated a cancer nurse specialist (CNS), sometimes referred to as a keyworker or Macmillan nurse. If she has, can I suggest that she gives her a call to talk through the various options. If she hasn't been allocated one, then her consultant's secretary should be able to arrange for her to speak to someone about whether she should have surgery or chemo first.
If your friend does want to make a complaint then she could contact PALS (Patient Advice and Liaison Service) at the hospital. Amongst their jobs is to help resolve concerns or problems you have when using the NHS and also to give information on the NHS complaints procedure.
Macmillan has this information about benefits for people affected by cancer which you and your friend could look through. She could also phone the Macmillan welfare rights team on 0808 808 0000 and they'll look to see if she's entitled to anything. It's free to call and they're available every day between 8am and 8pm.
It would be great if you could pop something about your friend's diagnosis and treatment so far 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.
x
"Never regret a day in your life, good days give you happiness, bad days give you experience"
