Some headlines I have to discuss with the cherub. Like this one
As, I pointed out to Cherub, it wouldn't have made a blind bit of difference to W. His cancer was a rare angiosarcoma, and although it affected his lungs it was incurable.
Also, maybe because we are in Scotland where everything is better (sorry, sarcasm...), or maybe because W was diagnosed at a quiet time for oncologists??.... well whatever, there were no delays I could see in his initial diagnosis.
Scans had followed the X rays which in turn had followed his GP visits so quickly that at the time I kept thinking all this for a false alarm. Ha! Hindsight!
The only delay was in diagnosing the tumour cells they removed from his lung. Which is fair enough when you look at how rare this sarcoma is, and what the diagnosis would mean...
Nope. From a very very small field sample of one, which I know doesn't make me a subject matter expert by a long chalk, the problem in W's treatment wasn't any delay in diagnosis. It was, and this I don't discuss with the Cherub, an apparent inability to treat the pain. As I think I've mentioned already. Endlessly.
Whether we need new drugs, better drugs, drugs that allow the patient to think coherently or remain mobile whilst under treatment; or whether W's doctors needed to improve their game plan sooner, I don't know.
But then there are no punchy headlines to be had in "Cancer patients suffer pain..." DUR
And probably good reasons for not making the news too public if you're trying to encourage the public to come forward for earlier diagnosis...
3 December 2009 at 00:01
The NHS isn't good at pain management, it has to be said.
I'd hide all newspapers from the cherub until he's about 34. Just out of principle.
3 December 2009 at 14:12
Mr Musgrove - Excellent advice. I will restrict our periodical subscriptions to the Grazia :)