The first intimation of failure came at the start of my cancer journey. It took two months from my initial referral to the start of my radiotherapy treatment. I begged the oncologist for an earlier appointment, but the waiting list target was 62 days, and so I had to wait out the full 62.
After three grueling months of daily radiotherapy…I remained optimistic…But by September I was having symptoms again, this time rectally…It then took four weeks for an appointment to see a gastroenterologist and a further two to actually have the sigmoidoscopy and biopsy. And then two more spent waiting for the results.
The results, which came in early January, were encouraging, but I’d need radical surgery to remove large chunks of my internal organs…I’d have to wait for an appointment to see the surgeon, who would only then put me on his list, which had a six-week wait.
I begged the oncologists for an earlier appointment and asked my GP to step in, all to no avail…The operation finally took place on 27 February, almost five months after the cancer had recurred. Once he’d taken a look inside, my surgeon closed me up again, with a heavy heart. It was now impossible to remove all the cancerous tissue – they got there too late.
She concludes the real problem is underfunding of the NHS, not undersupply from a state monopoly facing few competitive pressures. In the U.S. people can die in line, but usually from waiting for an organ (such as a liver) since that part of the U.S. system is all but fully socialized. The rest is a very costly state-protected cartel that needs to be ended as well.
3:54 pm on July 18, 2020
