Pancreatic cancer and me

[sammyc]

'Lo spacey *waves* hope everything went as well as poss this pm, best to you & Kate.

[cheesemp]

As sammyc says. Thinking of you and your family.

[spacein_vader]

I have ascites which is when fluid collects in your abdomen. As a result despite being unable to eat since Friday I have a pot belly and an awful lot of abdominal pain. I can barely get out of bed and the waiting list for it being drained is circa 3 weeks.

The average life expectancy for stage 4 pancreatic when you get ascites is 6 weeks.

[jimbouk]

Aww man! Hope they can do something sooner.

[Jonj1611]

Just no words mate other than thinking of you and praying for you

[neonplanet40]

I have no words mate. You are an absolute trooper and someone that we can all look up to. I hope you get as much help as possible to increase your comfort. Thinking of you and your family.

[sammyc]

So sorry to hear, & other things, that wouldn't make it past the swear filter so unfair, & however much they tell you life is, it's still all you want to say at times like this. Hope they can do something creative with the waiting list. x

[Output]

So sorry to hear of yet another thing piling on top like this. I too hope that they can do something about it much sooner, given the circumstances.

[Saracen999]

.... and an awful lot of abdominal pain.

.... and the waiting list for it being drained is circa 3 weeks.

The average life expectancy for stage 4 pancreatic when you get ascites is 6 weeks.

And they regard 3 weeks as viable?

Given the circumstances, I have to wonder if that can be 'prioritised'? It is certainly the case that cancer consultants can .... how do I put it? Minimise some queues because of the situation. Like scan queues.

You certainly know the NHS better than I ever will, Chris, but I think I said before, it's the squeaky wheel that gets oiled. Start squeaking, pal. Better yet, screech some.

I guess we now know why those being treated are called 'patients', eh? Need the patience of a saint.

/Sorry, couldn't resist.

//Getting my coat now.

Thinking of you, Chris.

[[GSV]Trig]

Well, that's a bit rubbishrubbishrubbishrubbish, they expect you to wait for, by your own numbers, half of your remaining time, being in more pain and being bedridden, seems, well, rather rubbishrubbishrubbishrubbish...
I agree with Saracen, kick up some fuss and see if they can get you drained faster...

[cheesemp]

(I can find no words)

[Ttaskmaster]

Blinkin' 'eck, Spacey, they're cutting it a bit fine, aren't they???!!!!

You sure they've not wandered into an overdramatic episode of Grey's Anatomy by mistake?

Look, if it comes to it, I'll head over to yours with a Dremel and some tubing, and sort you out myself!!
There must be a YouTube video or an iFixit guide for this somewhere....

[Saracen999]

I guess the counterpoint to my "squeak more" advice is the news today, that the NHS is drastically short of staff, due at least in part to Covid still being rampant (and to long-standing and underlying structural shortages).

The overall relaxation of Covid measures (masks, etc) might make some sense out in the wider world, not least because of damage to industry, education etc, of isolation and so on, but it's a different game when we're talking about hospital staff, and a VERY different game for those staff dealing with severely immuno-suppressed patients like, well, cancer patients with chemo. One more problem, like Covid, could end up being the proverbial straw for the camel's back. Not a good scenario.

So it may be that these backlogs are just hard limits, and not something even consultants can prioritise their way around.

My prior comments somewhat ignored this reality, and it may be that squeaking won't help. It's worth a try, though.

[ik9000]

praying they pull their finger out for you Chris.

[AGTDenton]

And they regard 3 weeks as viable?

Given the circumstances, I have to wonder if that can be 'prioritised'? It is certainly the case that cancer consultants can .... how do I put it? Minimise some queues because of the situation. Like scan queues.

You certainly know the NHS better than I ever will, Chris, but I think I said before, it's the squeaky wheel that gets oiled. Start squeaking, pal. Better yet, screech some.

I guess we now know why those being treated are called 'patients', eh? Need the patience of a saint.

Sadly there is some truth to this.
Now no longer under treatment I have to remind them about blood forms & scan dates otherwise you lose a month like I did in Jan thinking that a call or letter would be through the door any day, stupidly I let it go for 2 1/2 weeks before ringing the alarm. I at least now know 2 days is too much.

But you're also right, the NHS is a complex heavily logistical beast and the boat rocks a lot with 1.2 million employees on board!


Anyway likewise, thinking of you Chris! Hope they pull some strings and get you in sooner

[spacein_vader]

Through various ways and means I'm now being admitted tomorrow to have a 24hr drain procedure. Should be out again Friday.