What the fuck do I do?

[Bakewellisntjustacake]

I have suspected lymphoma but they can't rule out breast cancer because after my MRI which showed 3 big lymph nodes in my neck and chest, I did a breast exam and found a sizeable lump that I hadn't noticed previously . My issue is my referral to the breast clinic has been cancelled because the hospital I have been referred to has been inundated with covid patients and they've moved staff from out patients to covid wards.

They have cancelled my Wednesday appointment and rebooked me for November, all the rapid access appointments have been cancelled and my county won't allow my GP to refer out of area. My Gp is beside herself because she's so angry, but says there is nothing she can do other than write me a letter I can take to other hospitals. I have 4 hospitals near me but none can accept a direct referral from my GP because they're not in the same area.

I've written to my MP to complain but it just feels like an absolute death sentence

Just thought, if this needs moving to the covid topic then that's okay

Have you already been seen by a haematologist?

Can you pull together money for a private appointment? They will see you next day usually and thoroughly screen etc. They you would know what you're dealing with.

No it doesn’t need moving Bakewell. This bullshit has got to come to an end. People are literally dying.

Can you “move” to a friends address out of your area?

Pals immediately

That's awful. Would it be worth contacting PALS? Or possibly the Macmillan helpline? Clutching at straws, I know, but it sounds like the sort of situation where you need to try every avenue in the hope you can break through.

In your situation i’d Pregnant, borrow or steal to go private.

I google diagnosed myself with a minor cancer in June. The best the GP could offer was a phone appt 3 weeks after I uploaded a photo of a textbook carcinoma.

Luckily we have private healthcare so I was seen and operated on in 4 working days, so 2.5 weeks before the GP even picked up the phone.

I hope you are seen without any further delay and that you’re fixed and recovering very soon.

And email your mp
And the Secretary of State for education

Autocorrect 🙄 Beg, borrow or steal.

That is shockingly awful.
I'm so, so,.sorry that you are being treated in this way.
You need to get that letter from the GP and then go to the out of county hospitals and sit in A&E until the medics see youand very likely will refer you to the oncology team at their hospital.
This may mean a few hours sitting around but I guarantee that the doctors you see will be appalled at your predicament and will do everything they can to cut through that fucking red tape and get you seen ASAP.

This must be so scary but its time to be proactive. I amnsure your GPS letter will be as emphatic as possible that you be afforded the medical care in a timely manner that is your absolute right.

And absolutely bring this to the attention of the local press.
This is stress you do not need at this time and the NHD need to be shamed in to treating people better than this.

NHS

If you can speak to anyone then offer to take a short notice cancellation. I did that while waiting for a consultant and got a call asking if I could get there in 30 mins

Forgot to add it's probably worth doing at the minute as people will be cancelling and moving appointments like mad with covid and isolating

Oh god, I’m so sorry. I can only tell you that in vaguely similar circumstances my sister got a referral for my mother to breast cancer team over lung cancer team - and the right meds - by writing a strongly worded professional letter stepping on toes … but she was an NHS hospital consultant so I guess ranking and knew the language. I firmly believe that intervention gave my mum the fighting chance she needed at the time. I’m sorry your GP can’t manage to advocate that way.

Is it even legal they can cancel your breast cancer referral? Are they claiming you’re ‘on the pathway’/in the system already hence no urgency?

Do you have any family or friends you can borrow money from for a private review? Can you contact your local press on twitter and name the hospital? This is awful. My hospital is back to cancelling elective surgery but the 2ww cancer appts are still happening.

@OmgIcantbelieveshedidit

And email your mp And the Secretary of State for education

Do you mean Health, perhaps?

I think I'm going to have to get a loan to see the dr privately, I think I'm going to do that. I'm going to complain to everyone who will listen

This really isn't good enough. This is a death sentence to many women. I feel SO angry. I have colleagues who will know who to contact for private appointments but I shouldn't have to do this.

@Moraxella my GP was liaising with haematology and the breast clinic because I need a biopsy of the 3 big lymph nodes in my neck and chest, it was going to be done on Wednesday at the breast clinic. Obviously not now. I've got a bone marrow aspirate on Friday next week but I still need the lymph node biopsy and an ultrasound to rule out the big lump in my left boob which is on the same side as the big nodes. I just feel like they've gone 'oh it's not covid it's fine'

I'm a nurse I know that other diseases exist.

This isn't right

Will anyone start a go fund me for you, OP? The answer you've been given is not acceptable and you should fight it but at the same time, go private.

Please do all you can to get seen ASAP.

My family member was told her terminal womb cancer was "just a uti" and to keep taking antibiotics and over the counter sachets. She wasn't seen for eight months in the end.

Where I live there's no option for private so when the NHS is over run (as it is right now with covid cases) there's no other option. The other hospitals in the healthboard are also over run.

If you're not in England then remember you need to contact the appropriate person for health in your country e.g. In Wales it's senedd members - not MP, they can't help as health is devolved in other countries.

I know the daily mail are arseholes but they seem to have a bee in their bonnet about cancelled appointments at the moment. The appropriate amount of sad face might help you get seen.

I also second a go fund me.

I've told the clinic secretary I'll be calling every day until they find me someone to see. I'm also going to get a quote to be seen privately I just feel so angry about the situation

I hope it all gets sorted out for you soon OP xx

I am absolutely beyond livid with the way the NHS is still putting Covid before cancer and other debilitating, life threatening and painful conditions. I’m so sorry you’re going through this. You poor thing, my heart goes out to you.

I am fighting the NHS at the moment for essential surgery. I’m taking my issue to a video resolution call and then the Parliamentary Ombudsman if necessary to help get the result I need for my health. So perhaps try the official complaint route. The NHS will put barrier after barrier in front of you and ‘gate keep’ your treatment as long as possible if they can. You MUST push and push them and don’t let up otherwise they will try to get away with it, shrug their shoulders and ignore you. They are forcing you to go private in effect and they don’t care.

Also, consider legal no win no fee action against NHS England as litigation is sometimes the only language they understand. Go the media as well. I know it sounds drastic but raising awareness that cancer patients are still not getting treated is really important. Contact the Daily Mail because for all their faults, they do expose NHS malpractice, severe mental distress and neglect. And/ or, like another poster says, go and sit in A &E as then you have to be seen and helped.

Keep posting OP and stay strong. In the meantime, if you can see a private consultant do so now- today, don’t leave it. That will give you much peace of mind, it’s worth the cost to get this sorted. And remember to fight the NHS all the way, don’t be intimidated by their “ I’m sorry you feel this way but fuck off we won’t help you” - stonewalling tactics. Trust your judgment and don’t let them manoeuvre you into a corner. Sending you and hugs.