The Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital (NNUH) carries out outpatient appointments, day procedures and inpatient admissions. Patients are predominantly from Norfolk and north Suffolk, although some patients are referred from further afield especially to access specialist services.
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2004 responses from the local community
Cancer referral took too long but care good
5
Submitted by Anonymous7th February 2020
My wife went to her GP in Dereham with concerns. They treated her for a urinary infection for 9 months and then a new young doctor came along and said she needed a scan and referred her to the hospital. Once at the hospital she was fast tracked for cancer treatment. She had a hysterectomy, chemo and radiotherapy. Once she got to Norfolk and Norwich the care she got from them was excellent but my GP delayed her getting to them.
She had further operations chasing the cancer. 4 years passed and then suddenly she felt very ill. She couldn't keep warm and was in a lot of pain.
Went back to the surgery and nothing happened. So in desperation she phoned her former cancer nurse who managed to get a scan for her the next day. She was then phoned by the consultant and was given days to live.
I can't fault the care she got from the hospital, shame our doctors didn't act quicker.
I was referred to the N&N for prostate cancer treatment by my doctor at Stalham. It was a one stop shop! I was interviewed, had a biopsy and then went back to see the consultant. The nurse said I needed to prepare myself for bad news. I got the call and was then told I had prostate cancer so I needed to come back in and talk to the consultant about what treatment I wanted. It's difficult to decide on your own treatment so I came to the Big C support group and used the rooms to explore all the options.
I then went in and had it done.
I still have after effects from the procedure, my sex drive has gone and I have to wear pads but I can still do most things. I'm 77 and retired so I can pick and choose what I do anyway. They have tried to help with the issues I have from the procedure and they've looked after me.
I started to pass blood while I was on holiday, saw my doctor who check it wasn't an infect and they referred me to James Paget. James Paget referred me to Mr Mills to discuss treatment for prostate cancer. I was then given options to choose from - watch and wait and see what happens, have radiotherapy or have surgery. I really didn't know what to choose.
My brother bought me to the Big C Support group and they have different rooms set up where you can talk to people who have already chosen their treatment options. So I went into the different rooms, spoke to everyone and came up with the decision to have it removed. I'd been diagnosed early and having it removed gives me the option to have radiotherapy if they don't manage to remove it all.
I was looked after very well by the hospital but there just wasn't enough staff on the wards.
Someone else on the ward near me started wandering around and I had to tell the nurse to see to him and leave me.
I've also never got a discharge letter from them - I mentioned it to my consultant and he asked if I wanted him to follow up on it but I said it probably wasn't worth it now.
Having the Big C Support group at N&N has been great when I got diagnosed with prostate cancer. It covers the whole of Norfolk so you can go to different groups near where you're based. I've found it very useful and I know a lot of the other guys who come here have too. I've found out about changes in treatment and we've even been able to fundraise to help others going through what we have.
The specialist nurses who visit are superb too!
I had my prostate cancer treatment at N&N and the operation wasn't easy so I was in for 4 days not just overnight like they said I would be.
The specialist nurses are superb though! They don't get paid to come to the support groups and come of their free will. We'd all be lost without them.
I've got no complaints about the support and care I've had so far.
As long as I get decent results on my PSA they don't want to see me - that's what everyone wants to hear!
I was diagnosed with prostate cancer 22 years ago (1998) and I understand that radiotherapy wasn't very accurate then. I was told that they couldn't cut it all out because they 'might miss a piece' so it was best to go for radiotherapy. I was tattooed in three places and had 105 bombardments of radiotherapy.
It's now affected my bowels and waterworks. It didn't straight away but I'm feeling the impact more now. I can't control when I need to go to the toilet and have to wear pads. I've had surgery to try and fix it but it's not made much difference.
They did warn me it might happen and that radiotherapy wasn't very accurate back then. I'm also still having appointments now to try and help with the issues I'm still having because of the treatment.
I have my PSA check regularly and it has started going back up again but they are keeping an eye on it.
I've been very fortunate though - the care I had was okay, it's just the after effects I have now.
Very good - actually, they were excellent during my prostate cancer. They looked after me a treat from start to finish. I had biopsies and MRIs to diagnose my cancer. One time I had to have 50 biopsies and was in overnight. They confirmed that my cancer was only in my prostate and they had caught it early. I then had 20 sessions of radiotherapy which was really good.
Urology have been great too - I can phone them if I have any questions and they always help. They gave me leaflets and numbers for emergencies so I could contact someone.
Went straight through the process really - can't fault them especially the nurses.
The hospital still arrange my PSA test with my doctors surgery to check everything is okay.
I come to the Big C's Prostate support group. The biggest benefit is if you’re not married you also have the women’s group for support. They ask questions that men don’t even think about so it’s beneficial for both the partners and the rest of the group.
When I was asked about treatment options I went to see the urology nurses and they were trying to determine the best probable route for me. I then said I wanted to see all the consultants to talk about the pros and cons of all the options to help make my decision.
It felt like because I was over 73 I might not be given the choice of surgery but I’d already decided I wanted surgery. I saw one consultant who told me she wouldn’t recommend having radiotherapy because of where the cancer was. I saw another who told me that I was right to want to have surgery. I just felt like if I had said I wanted radiotherapy would they still have said the same thing?
I had the surgery and was only in for one night – the nurses were brilliant but was definitely pleased I was only there for one night!
Just want to add that, Phil in Andrology has been brilliant!
I had 2 biopsies and MRIs before getting a prostate cancer diagnosis. I can't fault it - they did exactly what I wanted to do and were incredibly supportive. The biopsy was painful but the nurse was there to support me. I am in a lucky position that my cancer isn't getting any worse. It would be good if there was better explanation of treatments and your options.
The Big C centre is a godsend: I borrowed a book from them of diet and it completely changed how I dealt with things.
My husband had a prostate cancer diagnosis 7 years ago. Our first stumbling block was having only 3 days to decide whether he should have an operation or radiotherapy. We weren't in the right frame of mind to make this decision! We also felt let down when the catheter was taken out as it was difficult to get a supply of pads. Once he was on the radar for the clinic it was fine though