Sunday, November 30, 2014

Why should care needed at a second cancer diagnosis need to be debated?

Last week or so the British Parliament debated whether additional care is needed for patients undergoing a second breast cancer diagnosis. Why should this be any  different than any other cancer diagnosis?

As far as I am concerned, if a patient is diagnosed with a second cancer, it doesn't matter if its the same cancer or a new cancer, the patient needs to have access to all available resources. Why should this even be a discussion? Well it seems that in the UK National Health Service, the patient with the secondary cancer doesn't usually get access to the clinical nurse specialist that was available at their first diagnosis.

When you are faced with a big diagnosis such as cancer, it is important to have as many resources as possible. And it should be up to the patient to decide which resources they want to utilize - and that may be later as opposed to sooner. however the resources should be there. Please do not make the decision for the patient and let them make it for themselves.

No comments:

I Started a New Blog

I started this blog when I was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2007. Blogging really helped me cope with my cancer and its treatment. Howe...