"How I was treated on the day of my Mastectomy and the days after"

I went to the arrivals lounge on the day of my operation with my Daughter because she didn't want me dealing with my Mastectomy on my own. I arrived to what I can only explain as a room with tables & chairs and it felt like it said above the door an arrivals lounge everybody started arriving with their bags like they were going on a trip waiting for a train or a coach only they were not. I wasn't, I was going to have a mastectomy because I had breast cancer and was terrified. Terrified because I'd never had an operation and terrified that I may die on the operating table. There was no one around we were all told to arrive at 7 am and no one was around to welcome us make us feel less scared. The only one that was there was a receptionist who did not go out of their way to offer any assistance or even speak to us.

I had been told I had to go down to nuclear medicine at 8. 30 to have a radioactive injection in my nipple no one offered to come with me or see I was going to be ok or even make sure I was going down at that time. Then different nursing staff started calling different patients to go with them. I had someone call me who was from prosper who was only interested in ticking their boxes for their own benefit and couldn't answer any of my questions I'd asked them. All they said was after the operation they would come back and tell me if I was on the group that would be doing the paper exercises or go with the physios.

I then went down to have my injection in my nipple and left a message or should say my daughter did that we were going to nuclear medicine and they told us to let them know when we were back which we did. They called me to have my checks done and stopped my daughter from coming with me all the time. In the end she told them they were cold and heartless and that she was going to stay with me because I'm terrified and she did. After my operation I was put on ward 23 and not one cancer nurse came to visit me it was actually a gynae ward and 14 hrs after my operation HCA's came into my room to tidy up and telling me you can go for a wash because you don't want to smell do you! ! ! And not once did they ask me if I needed a hand bearing in mind I am disabled and walk with a walking stick and had just had an operation.

Now I have had low blood pressure something I never had before and I'm on blood pressure tablets for high pressure. I was told after an operation this can happen. One H. C. A made me feel like I was a lazy drama queen even though I didn't open my mouth. I would never ever have treated anyone like that let alone someone like I was and also I was terrified of seeing myself for the first time. I found it a terrible thing to deal with and found the care and compassion awful from the start of my day entering the hospital on the day of my operation till the day I went home. Don't get me wrong some of the staff were nice but not one person took any time to talk to me about how I felt the only person who actually asked me was a Macmillan volunteer who was from a breast cancer support group based in Walsall who herself had been through what I had.

The first thing she asked me how are you feeling I told her I'm ok and she said your not really I know and I nodded at her and cried. I think it was awful how someone can go through having a mastectomy and no one seemed to care. Everyone is so clinical I worked in care for over 30 years and never once did I forget to treat people how I would like to be treated. Even on the day I was going home a nurse wanted to take my dressing off and I was scared. They said I didnt need to look at it but my daughter could because she would need to keep an eye on how it looked. Like it was nothing. I hope no one else ever has to feel or go through what I did. Walsall manor medical staff need to show more compassion to people and the breast cancer nurses need to visit patients after a mastectomy. I found the whole experience really awful and really sad when all it takes is a few kind words.