To think Chris Evans experience of cancer treatment isn't common ?

[Warszawa]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-66863274

I saw this article about Chris Evans having skin cancer removed. He mentions in the article time is of the essence and to get symptoms checked out - good advice of course but practically is that possible any more?

it's great that he got early intervention, but I've spent the last two weeks trying and failing to get a GP appointment for a fairly urgent matter.

I wonder what the experiences of "ordinarily people" ie those without the wealth to give access to private medical care are like? It doesn't mention in the article if he was treated on the NHS

Im not really looking at it from a political angle ( NHS has obviously been ran into the ground) I am interested to hear of peoples experiences - was it a battle to get seen etc

My AIBU is " I don't think you or I as a person reliant on the NHS would have had a similar experience to Chris, esp post pandemic"

Sorry, I’m a bit tired and maybe I have missed the point.

I just thought, paying £50 to see a GP privately is worth it if you can’t get a free appointment. I would do it if I was worried.

To be fair, if she can't get an appointment with the GP at all, the GP doesn't know whether it might be cancer or not. At our surgery, you ring at 8 and once the telephone slots are gone that's it. It's complete lottery, and once they're gone, they don't ask why you're calling to check if it might be urgent. No online triage/e-consult, no ability to pre-book a non-urgent appointment in a few weeks. So if you did have a suspicious mole, or a lump in your breast, you could easily not be seen for a couple of weeks if you don't make it through at 8am.

Exactly. It's a 2 week pathway from the GP appointment. Which is great, but not if you can't see the GP in the first place.

Took my 7yr old to the GP (got a same day appt no problem) as he was always bruised, constant nosebleeds, constant infections and ulcers. I just thought he was anaemic, but GP wanted to rule out leukaemia or anything serious, he was seen at the hospital within 48 hours, blood tests done etc. In the end, he WAS just anaemic, but as soon as the GP had flagged that it could be serious, they moved so fast to get him seen. I was really impressed with how fast it all moved.

I was referred under the 2 week pathway earlier this year. At 4 and 6 weeks I chased the appointment up and was palmed off. At 8 weeks I called again and was told there was no referral. They told me to call my GP. My GP was not who had referred me, so they said they couldn't help. The department that had referred me were uncontactable by phone/email so I ended up going there in person to ask to speak to someone. They were really helpful and called me the next day to explain what had been done and what would happen next. The hospital had somehow lost the referral. I finally got an appointment for biopsy 16 weeks after referral. Luckiky everything was okay, but I spent a lot of time worried sick and so frustrated by the lack of openess. I had no idea what was 'normal' any more so I didn't know if it was appropriate to chase, complain, etc. How long to wait.

I don't think it is £50 in the uk, I think it is more like £200, maybe someone will come on and say how much it is.

I went to see an advanced nurse practitioner the same day as I called for an appointment at my G.P. She checked me over, advised to take pics of the lesion and review in a month. I forgot to take the pictures and I was still worried so at my 2nd appointment she referred me to a dermatologist. I was seen and operated on within 2 weeks. It was a BCC, so very very low risk non spreading cancer. The dermatologist said it would have to be on my back for 60 years for anything more sinister to come of it. I thought it was exceptional service, they even let my hubby into theatre and she cut it out with me laid on my side as I was 32 weeks pregnant.

When I had unexplained anaemia, I was fast tracked even during the pandemic. It does happen.

It’s a random lottery I think to get GP appointments. If your lucky in our area you’re with my doc surgery and although we have to do this e console thingy we do get a phone appointment and then onward treatment/appointments.

if you live in the next village, and the two after that, they share two docs surgeries, one seems to be closed (except when it’s open but no one knows when that is) and the other one is a lottery as to whether they will reply to e console or answer the phone. It would seem as long as you’ve not foul mouthed the reception staff on the local Facebook group you might be lucky and get a call/response.

we have a local walk in centre in town and most people in those three villages go there and wait hours because it seems to be the only way to sort anything, once you’re past the GP’s it fine but if you can’t your completely stuffed.

One of our colleagues went to his GP last Thursday with a new, raised mole on his face. On Sunday he received a text message detailing an appointment with Dermatology for today. He had his consultation this afternoon and is booked for a biopsy next week. The whole diagnostic process will be complete in under the 2 week protocol within which he could have just had the initial appointment, if he was lucky.

On this occasion, the NHS has been exemplary, too bad this is a rare exception to the rule.

I really don't think this is the same experience in all areas. I've got a very strong family history of breast cancer and due to this I had a baseline mammogram about 10 years ago when I was 40 and was never called back (not sure if it's because the genetic testing for BRC1 & 2 came back negative or what, I was still told that there would no doubt be a genetic element involved somewhere but probably a gene they hadn't identified yet.). Still no call up for another mammogram until 10 years later - I finally got a text this year to say that now i'm over 50 I'm in the routine screening programme. "Oh good" I thought, "I'll finally get that scan". I rang the number it said to ring and the woman said my name wasn't in the system. That I'd get a text from my GP. I said "yes, I got one, that's exactly why I'm phoning, to make the appointment." They repeated that I wasn't appearing on the system and so to just wait till the next time I was called up, that it was done on a cycle and it could be any time in the next 3 years. I tried eexplaining my family history and that I really should have had a mammogram in the last few years and hadn't had any and that I should definitely be a priority in the over 50 programme. She couldn't have been less interested. Didn't give any advice. So I rang the other number on the original text from my GP saying "If you have any trouble accessing an appointment, ring the care coordinator on this number." I tried the number a couple of times, and it just rings out. I mean, I'm at the point of wondering if I just need to book a private one.

I've also got a current health issue, a vascular consultant told me a few years back that if I ever got this problem again I would need heparin and ultrasounds. I CANNOT get these things because despite going to the walk in centre twice, the second time sent by my GP, and armed with the original consultant's letter indicating what I needed to happen (ie to get a referral for the ultrasound, and to be given heparin), 2 different nurses dismissed my issue as "just tissue damage" and "it'll just be thrombophlebitis". They simply handed back the consultant's letter when I told them the letter explained why I was there, and that if I WERE to get thrombophlebitis ever again I would need the heparin and scans (for very specific reasons). They just did not read the letter and were not interested in listening to me.

It is honestly as if all my experience lately has been of NHS staff actively trying to stop me gain any access to NHS treatment, either of myself or my son. My GPs are actually individually very good (when you can actually get an appointment) and are as exasperated as I am by the state of things. One told me recently that there was a 19 hour wait in A&E last week. She is convinced that this is the start of the switch to private healthcare.

Even just trying to ring the switchboard at my local hospital (large city teaching hospital). It just rings and rings. It's barely ever answered, and even when it is, and you're put through to the department you need, no-one answers it there, or if they do, it's someone who shouldn't be in customer service as they just don't have the skills.

It's truly a mess.

@EdinaMonsoon I had two recalls following a routine mammogram in order to check out possible abnormalities in one of my breasts and both appointments came through in a week - this was in 2021.

And, actually, it was over 2 years ago, your routine mammogram @Papyrophile . I am so pleased for you that you got such quick treatment. But in those 2 years, things have declined so so much it makes me weep.

anecdotal of course but i called the GP this week with concerns about potential cancer symptoms and I was seen within 2.5 hours. Not private. NHS.

I called my GP on the Friday (although I have had instances where I hadn't got through on that day so I was lucky with that), had a face to face appointment that day and was seen in the breast clinic on Monday and basically told there and then that I had cancer.

The initial biopsy results took over two weeks to come back which I found very difficult. I'd had multiple scans, tests and biopsies by the time I started chemo around 5-6 weeks after I originally contacted the gp. I was often called up by various departments and asked to come in the next day for a scan or appointment. I was very impressed with the speed of my treatment.

YABU he’s encouraging people to get things checked and not leave them.

Of course getting a gp appointment is a different story but many people put things off or don’t want to make a fuss.

Putting it off is even worse if you can’t get an appointment for a while.

@Cosyblankets

That two week pathway can just mean a call is made to you not that you are seen.

I had cancer. Not suspected but was an incidental finding when they were looking at something else. I had a Ct scan the very next day confirm it was cancer. Saw the consultant 3 days later and had surgery in less than a month. My follow up care and scans was excellent. I was even referred to an NHS counsellor who helps patients traumatised by their diagnosis. It was all amazingly efficient and high quality care. I couldn't have got better care in a private system.

my youngest son 22, had a umbilical naevus that I noticed was changing colour 3 weeks ago.. we saw the gp, a specialist dermatologist performed a dermogram 3 days later .. he went onto the 2 week cancer pathway and saw a rare cancer specialist and had it removed within a week.. so 2 weeks from gp to removal.. pretty bloody good imo

They might 'have to respond' within 2 days but they dont. Ive been waiting two weeks and despite an apology, told now I might get contacted Friday

Of course no time given and I will be driving for most of the day. Great.

I saw one of the doctors at my local surgery. He specialises in skin conditions so if you make an appointment for something like this you get directed to him. He referred me but unfortunately at the time there was no Consultant at the local hospital so I got an appointment for a Saturday when a Consultant from elsewhere came and did a day to cover. It was like a conveyor belt but my goodness it showed how you could get through a queue of patients if there were no frills or niceties. There was no bedside manner but he removed the lesions and I got a letter giving me the all clear after the lab had done their thing.

A couple of years later I had another scare, saw doctor again and he reassured me it wasn't the same thing and sent me on my way.

The GP receptionists seem to just say ""do an online econsult" to everyone, unless you specifically say something like "and what should someone do who needs to be seen today? Is the walk in centre best or A&E?" They then start sighing and huffing and puffing and manage to find an appointment for you that's sooner than 3 weeks' time.

Husband saw GP within two days and hospital skin doctor within two weeks recently. Luckily not cancer. No idea of how long people with cancer wait for treatment. We are in the greater London area.

My experience of the NHS was also really good.

Diagnosed end of March 2020, had an MRI to stage me within 48 hours.

Started chemo and radio within 10 days.

Seems to massively vary looking at the comments. I went to gp re suspicious mole in February and was seen in May for my 2 week wait appointment (had to drive an hour away for it). Our county is really short of dermatologist. Then dh found a lump in his balls in early July. He’s chased multiple times and finally got his 2 week wait appointment and scan next week.