Why was cancer not spotted?

taurusgb

My thoughts are with you and I empathise completely. I started visiting my GP with several specific symptoms in 2008. By 2011, I had been given physio for pain, prescribed naproxen which in it's turn caused severe gastro eosaphagal reflux disease, been told my symptoms were due to my age (mid 50's), my weight (very slightly plump, certainly not obese), and got to the point where I was almost scared to visit my GP practise (in desperation I tried more than one GP) because I couldn't bear the "oh not you again" look in their eye.

July 2011 saw me collapsed in agonising pain which culminated in hospital admission where I was found to have an extremely enlarged spleen (your spleen is usually a tiny organ tucked up under your ribs, mine was larger than a rugby football and weighed almost a stone). To cut a long story short, I eventually had my spleen removed and was diagnosed with cancer. I was lucky (so I am told) though I would argue from my own research that an earlier diagnosis would have given them chance to try an save my spleen with use of retuximab. As your spleen plays a big part in your bodies abilities to fight infection, I am now left with a severely impacted immune system as well as my incurable cancer. The type of cancer I have would not have been curable even if discovered earlier, but the treatment I could have had would have made a big difference to my day to day life now.

Now I have a diagnosis my GP practise are being wonderful, but it does underline that more resources are needed to diagnose illness and not just pick up the pieces afterwards.

I also have first hand knowledge of a lady in her 40's who fought and beat breast cancer returning to her GP with severe back pain 2 years later. She was ignored and only offered pain relief. With her history surely a scan would have been appropriate? By the time they decided to do one her secondary breast cancer tumour had invaded her spine so badly she was unable to walk and died after horrendous suffering witnessed by her husband and 3 teenagers.

Edited to add: The thing is if you suspect you are not receiving the right treatment or tests are not being offered you have to stand your corner and fight for yourself. Even when you do get a referral dont ever sit back and think you can leave it to the NHS. You cannot. The morass of administration often causes problems that will not be resolved if you dont keep pushing. My cancer consultant had to refer me to a surgeon for my spleen removal, the paperwork didnt get passed on and I would still be waiting for my operation now (well no actually I would probably be dead) if I hadnt kept chasing things myself.

seven-day-weekend

mumps wrote: »

I do feel sorry for your friend but to be fair the NHS doesn't always get it wrong. A couple of weeks ago my son had been feeling unwell for a few days, he woke one morning feeling much worse, got an emergency appointment within 30 minutes so had to quickly get dressed, fortunately the surgery was just round the corner. He was seen immediately and GP quickly contacted hospital and got a taxi to get him there, the quickest option. Within half an hour, so just over an hour after he woke up, he was being admitted and prepared for surgery. He has recovered well and needs further surgery, we already have the date and all the details which he received in the post within a week of his discharge. I know we were lucky but I am grateful to the NHS, even though the ward he was on wasn't particularly nice but he is well and alive and hopefully the second op will mean this never happens again.

Over twenty years ago a similar thing happened with my son, he was only seven and had a tummy-ache - appendicitis diagnosed and within an hour having surgery to remove an appendix that was just about to burst, a marvellous job.

It's not the hospital I have no faith in, it's the GPs (although in my son's case it was an out-of-hours GP who sent him to hospital). Someone I know, who is in a position to know these things, said that GPs are there purely to keep people away from the consultant and to serve the drug companies. I do hope they are not correct.

Errata

This is not specific to cancer. Vast numbers of people have poor communication skills and doctors sometimes have to dig very deep in order to discover detail of precisely what a patient is presenting with.
Vast numbers of patients remember only after they've left the consulting room that they forgot to tell the doctor about x, y and z. and vast numbers of patients are unable to remember exactly what the doctor said to them.
Add into that mix that disease doesn't always develop in a predictable and linear manner and those with scant medical knowledge seek a target to blame for a bad outcome, and the target they choose may be the wrong one.

ineed

I'm so sorry to hear about your friend

Just wanted to say not all GPs are bad as Errata says there's sometimes lots of things to factor in with GP diagnosis. I know some are bad but I think most are pretty good. Our GP is quite good a ferreting out information and sending people or tests. He was quick to send OH for tests and it turned out he was diabetic.

I know how hard it is to have someone you love receive that news. Thoughts with him and you xx

Dunroamin

seven-day-weekend wrote: »

What policy is that? I would be interested in having a look.

https://www.simplyhealth.co.uk/sh/pages/individuals.jsp

We've been with them for many years, since the days when they were HSA.

ETA

We have the Simply Cash Plan.

https://www.simplyhealth.co.uk/sh/pages/newbusiness/hcp/quote.jsp?_requestid=72111

Dunroamin

taurusgb wrote: »

My thoughts are with you and I empathise completely. I started visiting my GP with several specific symptoms in 2008. By 2011, I had been given physio for pain, prescribed naproxen which in it's turn caused severe gastro eosaphagal reflux disease, been told my symptoms were due to my age (mid 50's), my weight (very slightly plump, certainly not obese), and got to the point where I was almost scared to visit my GP practise (in desperation I tried more than one GP) because I couldn't bear the "oh not you again" look in their eye.

July 2011 saw me collapsed in agonising pain which culminated in hospital admission where I was found to have an extremely enlarged spleen (your spleen is usually a tiny organ tucked up under your ribs, mine was larger than a rugby football and weighed almost a stone). To cut a long story short, I eventually had my spleen removed and was diagnosed with cancer. I was lucky (so I am told) though I would argue from my own research that an earlier diagnosis would have given them chance to try an save my spleen with use of retuximab. As your spleen plays a big part in your bodies abilities to fight infection, I am now left with a severely impacted immune system as well as my incurable cancer. The type of cancer I have would not have been curable even if discovered earlier, but the treatment I could have had would have made a big difference to my day to day life now.

Now I have a diagnosis my GP practise are being wonderful, but it does underline that more resources are needed to diagnose illness and not just pick up the pieces afterwards.

I also have first hand knowledge of a lady in her 40's who fought and beat breast cancer returning to her GP with severe back pain 2 years later. She was ignored and only offered pain relief. With her history surely a scan would have been appropriate? By the time they decided to do one her secondary breast cancer tumour had invaded her spine so badly she was unable to walk and died after horrendous suffering witnessed by her husband and 3 teenagers.

Edited to add: The thing is if you suspect you are not receiving the right treatment or tests are not being offered you have to stand your corner and fight for yourself. Even when you do get a referral dont ever sit back and think you can leave it to the NHS. You cannot. The morass of administration often causes problems that will not be resolved if you dont keep pushing. My cancer consultant had to refer me to a surgeon for my spleen removal, the paperwork didnt get passed on and I would still be waiting for my operation now (well no actually I would probably be dead) if I hadnt kept chasing things myself.

I completely agree but you also have to allow for the fact that someone may be lying to you. We chased my husband's lung transplant referral for a year until it was finally admitted (just after his 65th birthday when he was no longer eligible) that no referral had ever been made. During that period we spoke to half a dozen professionals in the lung clinic and they all told us that they were waiting for a reply!

C_Mababejive

I have always said,never totally trust the NHS with your life. Always do your own research and if in doubt,dont be afraid to ask/discuss.

Having said that,and with all due respect to the OPs friend, i fear that ven if first detected, the prognosis would have been the same given the extent of secondaries.

seven-day-weekend

C_Mababejive wrote: »

I have always said,never totally trust the NHS with your life. Always do your own research and if in doubt,dont be afraid to ask/discuss.

Having said that,and with all due respect to the OPs friend, i fear that ven if first detected, the prognosis would have been the same given the extent of secondaries.

Actually that has made me feel better, knowing that the delay might not have made things worse. Thanks.

Errata

I would agree ths your friend's cancer appears to be extremely aggressive as it's gone from no symptoms at the start of the year to terminal just five months later. I hope he is now receiving good palliative care.

pops5588

I also don't understand how these things slip under the radar like this.

One of my best friends from uni got diagnosed with Lymphoma cancer a little while before we graduated, 3 years ago. He was given the all clear about 8/9 months later but obviously continued to have all the checks. Then suddenly in April 2011 we get the news that he will die within a couple of months. He held out til May 8th 2011, a month before his 22nd birthday. We were all very angry, how can someone go from being completely all clear to the point where they are making plans for their life and then future, and then suddenly have a month to live?? I've never understood it and probably will never make peace with it.