NHS patients shouldn’t have to fight to get the right diagnosis

This blog is written by Just Treatment supporter Sue.

This year, my forty year old son Carl became ill. We didn’t know that he had been suffering from cancer until just six days before he died - we had been pushing and fighting for answers for months. 

My son was always busy. He worked hard and played sports, and generally bounced back if he did pick anything up, but after Christmas he became ill with a cough and lethargy. He went back and forth to his GP with multiple rounds of antibiotics only worsening his symptoms. 

With increased infection markers his GP told him to go to A&E. He did and received more antibiotics but they didn’t improve anything. He took himself back to A&E and refused to leave without a diagnosis. 

A CT scan they told him it 'looked like' lung cancer. What followed were tests spasmodically and medication to treat his symptoms. He continued to get worse, losing weight and clinging on from one test to another, desperate for a diagnosis.  

Eventually he was taken into hospital in April, 60 miles from home. 

Finally just six days before he died a diagnosis confirmed that he did have lung cancer. Three days later he was given just two days to live, and thankfully for his last three days he was surrounded by his family. 

Since his death, I have now learned that my son had more than lung cancer. He also had a brain tumour, oesophageal cancer, and stomach cancer. He didn’t know any of this. He spent four months being medicated and undergoing spasmodic tests with what felt like no urgency.

He should have had regular tests. It shouldn’t have taken so long to get answers. If there was no hope from the outset, it would have been better to know that.

The nursing staff where he spent his final days couldn't have been any better, but those last three days were the hardest and most harrowing of my life. 

The NHS is crumbling without proper investment and every single day, there are families just like ours going through the same thing. 

The Health Secretary has said that earlier cancer diagnosis and treatment is a top priority - now this promise needs to be backed up by a commitment to increase funding and tackle staffing shortages.

Right now the government is developing a “national cancer plan”, and I hope that they will engage with and listen to the stories of families like ours. Cancer is one of the biggest killers in the UK, and it is vital that patients get timely access to tests and treatment through a system that is properly resourced. No patient should have to fight for answers like my son did.