"Prostate Diagnosis and Treatment"

After being diagnosed with prostate cancer in late February 2024. I was referred to Southend Hospital Urology department for further treatment.

All of the staff that I met on my journey through from diagnosis, surgery and recovery were amazing.

I was treated with respect, professionalism and sympathetically throughout my treatment.

All of my concerns and questions were answered honestly by all of the various departments that I encountered.

My surgery was carried out by one of the consultants at the hospital. I had appointments with the consultant who again explained very clearly my condition and the various treatments that were available, the choice of which was up to me to decide which I thought was most suitable.

I chose to have the full Prostectomy surgery option, again this was explained to me in full detail to confirm my understanding of the procedure and likely outcome.

My experience on the day of the surgery in the Elective surgery suite was very calm and reassuring, my surgical procedure was explained to me again and the team there answered some more questions that I had.

After surgery I was admitted on to the Princesss Ann ward.

They looked after me amazingly well and ensured I was comfortable at all times.

On my release from the ward I was handed over the Southend Urology Clinical Nurse Specialists Enhanced Recovery Team who were absolutely brilliant they continued to provide full support in person and via phone if I had any concerns or questions.

I first met this team early on in my diagnosis, they really had the gritty job of filling in the gaps about what to expect after surgery.

They handled this very well and even adding some humour into their presentation, which really helped.

After my surgery I was contacted on a weekly basis by this team to confirm/discuss any after surgery issues, and even now if I need anything I only need to give them a call.

Every department that I went through deserves my sincere thanks and appreciation for all of their excellent work and total commitment. However this Enhanced Recovery Team just gets the edge on their help and support.

Being diagnosed with any form of cancer is extremly worrying for both the patient and family, however I can only say a big Thank You to the whole Urology Team at Southend Hospital for their excellent treatment.

I can provide names of the people who I think went the extra mile, however for this review providing names is not permitted.