06-Jun-2011 – BLOODS, CLINIC, DELAYS & THE REAL WORLD!

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  Hi,

Just to put some of this in perspective:

Mortality from cancer worldwide

Each year more than 7.5 million people worldwide die from cancer. Because of the size of its population around half of these people (50%) are in Asia). Around 12% of deaths worldwide are from cancer. The proportion of all deaths caused by cancer varies, from only 4% in Africa to 23% in Northern America ( Figure 3.11-2). In the UK around 24% of all deaths are caused by cancer.

Even considering WHO predictions that Cancer deaths will rise to 15M a year by 2020 CLICK HERE worldwide that is scarey but a tiny weenie number when you consider there will be approaching 8 Billion people alive then.
So currently out of around 56 Million deaths a year only about 7.5 million are related to cancer.
OK that’s you dead from boredom with statistics but it does put some facts around the fear 😉
Now to really bore you!
So on Monday Lee and I went to Velindre for a Clinic as although I had not been notified last Thursday I remembered I had Chemo on Wednesday (low on my priorities that week!) but when did they intend to check my bloods and when was Dr. lester going to come up with the results on my scan.
As anyone who has played these games will know – you desperately want the results of scans but you try to put them off as it MIGHT be a death sentence – Scanziety!
Anyway I bit the bullet and I suggested I came in for clinic on Monday and then if there was a problem someone else, with luckier results, could have my Chemo slot on Wednesday!
So we walker into Velindre on time! Another 40 miles down the M4! More of that later, but I’ve had a bit of a cunning wheeze I think!
It is astonishing in that busy hospital with all those agitated and concerned faces around just howmany seem to greet me by name!! I suppose it is ‘cos of the crazy ‘T’Shirt slogans and the determination to laugh about life and laugh with people however rough it gets!!
It is astonishing how many people end up chatting as they sit their looking glum and you say ‘Hi great to see you are still alive it gives me hope’! They ALWAYS smile after that!
Anyway – in for another armful of blood to be taken! No problem we were laughing about the risks of washing up when you are on Chemo – DANGEROUS might cut your finger!!
Right so off the blood samples go and the tests, which are done mechanically (well electro Mechanically sort of electronic and printed out on screen) are then human checked by someone with one of the world’s most boring jobs! 
That should take just over 20 minutes but in any busy blood unit it takes nearer an hour – werll it is all down to resources and of course Managers come far before Medical Care! Clearly there are far too many managers and parasites in the Kleptocratic QUANGOcracy.
What we need is more clinical & medical staff – not more parasites – clearly there is a log jam at Bloods and another in Radiography.
I would NOT have possibly terminal Cancer if instead of squandering £1Billion The Local Welsh Health Service had not squandered the money but bought the required Scanners and funded them. The scan I should have had in the first 2 weeks of January so that this could all have been sorted with simple surgery but waiting until the end of March to prove what we already knew led to metastases that may well kill me!

ANNOUNCEMENT:

whilst we were chatting with a couple where the wife had been a Sister at The Royal Gwent, in one of the few units she believed functioned OK, her husband had Prostate Cancer and was waiting for news of scans with a mixture of bold equanimity and trepidation – don’t we all!

The announcement was that Dr. Jason Lester’s clinic was running 90 minutes late!

Actually nuisance as it may be I never really mind – he sets up his clinic on a planned time scale, as is essential, but when he sets it up he has no way of knowing just how long his patients may take to assimilate what may be very grave news and he will – as I have seen repeatedly, give the time that is needed to every patient according to that need.

I may need that time one day and I may well think of the delay but …

So Lee and I checked in with the sister managing the clinic and asked if we could Mike Off to the canteen for an hour – no problem, the coffee is better, it is comfier and there is an outside view!

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I Have Been Fighting Cancer since 1997 & I’M STILL HERE!
I Have Cancer, Cancer Does NOT Have Me
I just want to say sorry for copping out at times and leaving Lee and friends to cope!
Any help and support YOU can give her will be hugely welcome.
I do make a lousy patient!

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If YOU want to follow my fight against Cancer from when it started and I first presented with symptoms see The TAB just below the Header of this Blog. called >DIARY of Cancer< just click and it will give you a long list of the main events in chronological order.
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Posted by: Greg Lance-Watkins
tel: 01291 – 62 65 62
on: http://GregLanceWatkins.Blogspot.com  
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Health/Cancer Blog: http://GregLW.blogspot.com  
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