If there is one thing that I have learned from five years of dealings with the public health service in this country (and it possibly relates to any country for that matter) and that is that the squeaky wheel gets the oil.
If you feel you have somehow dropped off the radar or are waiting too long for a referral, an appointment, surgery or a scan. Say so! Don't just sit around and presume that someone is on to it. They probably aren't. People most certainly have died waiting for treatment in this country.
On Wednesday after my lung function tests I physically visited the Blood and Cancer Centre reception and voiced my concerns about the three month wait to see my Haematologist, and the overdue CT scan.
I was immediately booked in to see someone in the Haematology dept next Thursday, and by 8am the next day the radiology dept had phoned me, apologised and scheduled my CT scan for next Monday afternoon, just five days after asking. The system works, you just need to know that it needs a bit of a push start sometimes.
I'll post once I know the results of the CT. Fingers crossed for no further growth of the enlarged lymph nodes discovered in my pelvis on the last scans.. Or better still nothing to see at all !! :)
..Ron
Friday, January 7, 2011
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Lung Function much improved!
Well it certainly pays to take responsibility for your health and treatment.
The decision to nearly triple my prednisone last week when I noticed a sudden decline in my health and the onset of a low grade fever was the right thing to do.
Today I had a lung function test and all parameters were greatly improved over the previous test, including the all important diffusion test, which measures how well the lungs actually get oxygen into the blood. (to the respiratory techies out there..yeah I know I've over simplified that description)
Sarah and I have done the hard walk (read "grunt") to the top of our hill four times in the last five days.
It's part of the Belmont regional park network of tracks and it's a thirty minute steep walk to the top gate.
Each time I've done it it's become easier. Must be doing wonders for my heart and lungs.
I've now got a new respiratory doctor, the previous one has now moved on to another field of medicine elsewhere in the hospital. I brought the new one up to speed today and asked if he agreed with my emergency prednisone regime. He did.
What is really good is that, like me, he doesn't like me being on prednisone for so long and agrees that I need to be off it. To that end he is going to see if there is an alternative treatment we can try.
I popped up to the Blood and Cancer center after my respiratory appointment and prepared to thump the counter over my non-booked CT scan and three month delay in seeing the haematologist. I didn't have to thump.
The young lady behind the counter was most helpful, found me an appointment for next week and promised to chase up the radiology people about my scan and phone me tomorrow.
What's good there is that I can now book a private CT san if I have to and have the results back in time for next weeks appointment. It's a win-win situation. I just want to know one way or another if this darn skin itch is Hodgkins or something else. Either way I can focus on either getting treatment or relaxing.
..Ron
The decision to nearly triple my prednisone last week when I noticed a sudden decline in my health and the onset of a low grade fever was the right thing to do.
Today I had a lung function test and all parameters were greatly improved over the previous test, including the all important diffusion test, which measures how well the lungs actually get oxygen into the blood. (to the respiratory techies out there..yeah I know I've over simplified that description)
Sarah and I have done the hard walk (read "grunt") to the top of our hill four times in the last five days.
It's part of the Belmont regional park network of tracks and it's a thirty minute steep walk to the top gate.
Each time I've done it it's become easier. Must be doing wonders for my heart and lungs.
I've now got a new respiratory doctor, the previous one has now moved on to another field of medicine elsewhere in the hospital. I brought the new one up to speed today and asked if he agreed with my emergency prednisone regime. He did.
What is really good is that, like me, he doesn't like me being on prednisone for so long and agrees that I need to be off it. To that end he is going to see if there is an alternative treatment we can try.
I popped up to the Blood and Cancer center after my respiratory appointment and prepared to thump the counter over my non-booked CT scan and three month delay in seeing the haematologist. I didn't have to thump.
The young lady behind the counter was most helpful, found me an appointment for next week and promised to chase up the radiology people about my scan and phone me tomorrow.
What's good there is that I can now book a private CT san if I have to and have the results back in time for next weeks appointment. It's a win-win situation. I just want to know one way or another if this darn skin itch is Hodgkins or something else. Either way I can focus on either getting treatment or relaxing.
..Ron
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