"I owe a large vote of thanks for looking after me as well as they did"

In April 2015 I was referred by my GP to a consultant in the Vic. After a colonoscopy at the QM in May which indicated that I had bowel cancer in the small bowel, I had a consultation with Mr Boyce at the Vic and agreed to proceed with the operation. Things then moved very fast, I reported to the Vic ward 53 on the following Monday for an operation the next day. After the operation was carried out I awoke in the Intensive Care Unit with a stoma bag attached and after a short time I returned to ward 53 where I had a very bad night with a high temperature which required the night nurse to repeatedly change my drip. In addition to the ward nursing staff I had a number of visits by the Colorectal Nursing Team to make sure that I was managing my stoma. I was discharged one week after I had been admitted.

After a short respite I attended the Vic for a consultation with Dr Clive to discuss the follow on treatment. I agreed to undertake a 24 week course of Chemotherapy which involved 8 x 3 week cycles, for each cycle I attended the Oncology out-patients department ward 34 DU at the Vic for an drip and this was followed by 2 weeks of pills and 1 week no pills. The pills for the next cycle were issued when having the drip by the Vic pharmacist along with a medication chart detailing the quantities and when they were to be taken, I found this essential. At the start of the treatment I was given a number of contact numbers for the Vic and the Cancer Treatment Helpline these proved invaluable as I had to use them on a number of occasions to seek advice or reassurance. Throughout this period I also attended regular clinics where my condition was reviewed by Dr Gilbert. Also during this period I experienced a number of problems with the stoma bag and had to visit the Colorectal Nursing Team for assistance and advice. The treatment completed in January and I had the final consultation with Dr Clive. For me this was a particularly difficult 6 months because of the side effects as well as having a stoma bag fitted.

I had a consultation with Mr Boyce at the Vic where we discussed the option of reversing the stoma bag to which I agreed. A water soluble contrast enema was arranged at the QM Radiology/X-ray Dept and this indicated that the join in the bowel had healed satisfactorily and there was no evidence of recurrent cancer. It was proposed that we proceed with the ileostomy and a further CT scan was arranged at the QM. The operation was originally scheduled, but unfortunately had to be rescheduled. After the operation and return to ward 53, I then had to learn how to operate my bowels after not having used them for almost 12 months. During the first night I was unable to pass water and was in extreme pain the night nurse said she was unable to fit a catheter insertion but contacted the duty doctor who appeared within minutes and fitted the catheter to my great relief. After progressively getting control of my bowels over the week I was discharged.

Since leaving the Vic hospital I have progressively gained better control of my bowels. I attended a Colorectal Nurse follow up clinic at the QM and have been advised that the bloods taken are within satisfactory limits including blood tumour markers.  I had a follow up consultation with Mr Boyce and he proposed a further Colonoscopy to check the large bowel which had not been accessible during the first examination at the Day Intervention Unit in the Vic. A further examination was arranged and I now await the results.

Throughout this 18 month period I have been in contact with a large variety of nursing and other support staff in both the QM and Vic and found a consistent high level of sympathy, standards, professionalism and team working. Although I have only mentioned Mr Boyce, Dr Clive & Dr Gilbert by name, most of my contact has been with the individual nurses and specialists and so it is to all of them both doctors and their teams that I owe a large vote of thanks for looking after me as well as they did. The ward night nurses in particular impressed as they were left looking after the whole ward throughout the night and came to my rescue on 2 particular occasions.