Been there, done that but what did you find?

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21

Hi

I had my rads at Christies in Manchester. As said in an earlier post, I too was given a gown at the planning session - a front fastening one with press studs along the top of each shoulder so you only exposed the area which needed to be treated. I kept the same gown for the duration of the treatment - taking it in each day. There were two changing areas. One was quite a small room away from the main waiting area and next to the radiotherapy room. It had a lockable door, large mirror, chair, coat hooks and a box of tissues. The other was a curtained-off cubicle near the actual machine again with a chair etc. The staff were excellent and I was treated with great respect and dignity. Although by this stage in the proceedings I wasn’t too bothered as to who saw what!

Jibby x

22

Hi Dahlia

Just to second what Magsi said about Barts. They were great and in my case always on time or early for appointments.

See you soon

Dilys

23

Hi

Had my last zapping yesterday at RUH Bath, like some others have said no changing room or gown just a chair to put your top on. This was fine for me, the girls were so friendly that I didn’t worry. I was in and out very quickly, most days being back at my car in about 20 mins.

Love Jackie

24

Lilacblushes

I am at 2.30pm - room C

I live in East Ayrshire

25

I had rads at Leicester Royal Infirmary. I was given a front opening gown at my planning session to use for the duration. There were no changing facilities, just a chair in the radiotherapy room for clothes. This was right by the entrance which had no door. Although it was around a corner, so that provided some privacy, it all felt very vulnerable. Half the regular nurses on my machine were male.

I found it all very distressing, having to get undressed in front of male nurses having had a mastectomy, and still wearing a scarf. My scarf came off one day as I was undressing and I was very embarrassed. I found it surreal, having conversations about the weather outside or whatever while undressing in front of men.

To be honest I found the whole thing very upsetting and was hugely relieved when it was all over.

I planned to write to the hospital about it, but if course once it was all over I never did.

26

Hello

I am currently having rads at Leic Royal Infimary - I was given a front opening gown and was told to bring it in every day. Everything is as stated by Roadrunner. I too find it surreal, that you are sitting in the waiting area having a chat and then you just go down a short corridor and strip! I have never got undressed/dressed as quick as I do in that room. I will be so happy when I have completed my rads.

The Radiotherapy unit at the LRI is quite new and you would have thought when they were in the planning stages, changing rooms would have been included.

And it is not ideal when you are walking through the department to see patients currently in hospital waiting in their nightclothes either in wheelchairs/or a bed, it must be so upsetting for them to have all and sundry going passed them - I know it IS a hospital, but give them their privacy.

27

Hi

I’m another Christies girl, same as the others on the gown front and changing areas. Occasionally had different staff but I did have very different appointment times due to OH shift patterns, didnt mind when it was a man as so past caring who see’s my BC boob, it almost feels like its not mine anymore.
I was on suite 2 and the radiographers were lovely and their receptionist who made the appoinments was really helpful and always fitted me in when was best for me.
I had one breakdown of machinery and had to lie still for about 20 mins but it was a technical problem with the computer.
Good luck on the rest of your rads and research.
S x

28

HI,

I had my treatment at Queen Elizabeth hospital in Romford, the hospital is under 2 years old and has 6 large, bright changing rooms, we were also given baskets to put our clothes in. I was given a gown that opened down the front and at the shoulders. The waiting room was next to the changing area, and that too was quite large and comfortable. I was treated by quite a few different members of staff, both male and female, but all were really nice and friendly. There are 4 treatment suites so I over the 5 weeks I did get to go in all of them.

I was only kept waiting on 1 or 2 occasions, the rest of the time I was seen fairly quickly - and they were very flexible with my appointment times as I had to change them when I returned to work in the middle of my rads.

All in all, it was not a bad experience at all - but not one I want to repeat!!

Tracy x

29

I am due to start at Clatterbridge, Wirral in a few weeks be interested to hear what to expect
Mary
x

30

hi i am just going to start my treatment at the Leicester royal infirmary, have seen oncologist now waiting for planning meeting, i was wondering if they had changing rooms, it dose appear extremely busy,

31

Hi,

I think this is a really interesting thread and just reading it I feel tearful. I am with you and Roadrunner in my experiences.

I had my rads at Clatterbridge, on the whole a lovely hospital with lovely reception staff.

However, once you were called through i sat outside the room while I could hear the machine working on somebody else, this could be anybody receiving treatment for all different kinds of things, and there seemed to be a lot of male patients on my machine. Then we would pass by each other and i would go in for my rads. There was a chair in the corner, no curtain, no gown. I was told to strip to the waist and given a small piece of paper to hold over myself. I had had a mastectomy and was wearing a wig, I felt vulnerable and humiliated every time I went in. There was no door on the room it was open to the main corridor via a 20 metre curved corridor, if that makes sense. It was quite possible for somebody to just walk down that corridor and into the treatment room. The staff were behind a counter next to this corridor and faced onto the main corridor.

There was a mix of female and male staff, mostly female. I felt the most objectified I have ever felt, my arm and shoulder was sore in the position they put me in and I thought the staff could be a little rough sometimes. I have hyper sensitive skin over my scar and the feel of the paper used to drive me to distraction, in the end I just didnt bother with it, even though I felt more vulnerable. Sometimes i couldnt believe that I had ended up in this place, the fear of just myself and my husband seeing my body to one where 3 or 4 strange people would see it in a day. If anything I found the male staff much more understanding and sensitive.

The most awful thing for me though was when I found out that there were cameras in the treatment room, when the staff went out the room they would look at you on camera to make sure you were okay, obviously this makes sense as they cant stay in the room. However, I found this out when i was standing at the desk outside the treatment room and actually saw the treatment bed via the camera! Every time after that I would be wondering who would be looking at me on the camera.

On the whole I just thought they were too busy and too unaware of the kinds of emotions and feelings going through the heads of people who have had surgery for breast cancer. I did tell one of them once and she said if I thought I felt bad I should think of women who had rads for cancer “down there” as she put it. It didnt make me feel any better only worse for the other patients!

This thread and just thinking of my experiences has made me decide to put pen to paper straight away and let the hospital have my thoughts on their procedures and the terrible design of their treatment rooms!

Best regards and to anyone planning to have rads I hope my experiences havent put you off, plenty of other women had much more positive experiences, even at the same hospital. Maybe I was unlucky.

Polly x

32

Polly

You seem to have been so upset by your treatment, I just want to come and give you a hug. From what has been described many treatments rooms seem to be similar in set-up - ie the curved corridor etc. I’ve never concerned myself about anyone wandering in as the control room for the one I am treated in is right at the top of the corridor and the staff would see anyone who decided to wander on by.

As I’ve said in the past I have never felt humiliated or objectified at any point during my dx or treatment. I’m not one for flaunting my body all over the place but neither am I one to cringe with embarrassment if I have to have any part examined. I just feel that the doctors and nurses etc have seen it all before and they just consider it another body part the same as an arm or a leg or whatever.

33

Hi Polly

The fact that you are placed in a position where you feel vulnerable and have no dignity is unacceptable. I think many British women are fairly laid back in terms of whether we are undressed or not. I for one, am not too bothered, but that does not make it right that it should go on. This treatment is bad enough without having to feel exposed if you are uncomfortable with that and I feel desperately sorry for those women from a culture where even taking off a headress is difficult, let alone stripping to the waist in front of everyone. Clearly, there are ways of addressing this such as gowns etc and I think you should contact the hosptial about this. However, more importantly, the fact that patients can actually see whats going on via the camera is a total breach of patient confidentiality and the hospital has absolutely no excuse for this. They may as well leave all the notes out on the table in the waiting room to let everyone see. Report this straight away. It is an illegal practice and the hospital could get very heavily fined for doing this. I work in a hospital and we have to take great care to ensure patients notes and identities are protected.

Cathy

xx

34

To me there is no dignity in having to get dressed and undressed in a large room with nurses coming and going. Usually at the doctors or hospital a curtain is drawn to give privacy whilst changing even though the doctor then comes to examine you. It seems to me that LRI and any other hospital without a changing area has missed this basic fact. And maybe no-one will walk in through the corridor, but that doesn’t stop the feeling that someone could, at any moment.

35

I hope that I did not give the impression that your concerns were not genuine Roadrunner. I agree that for dome ppl it is very distressing to have to underess in front of the staff and the corridor issue can be upsetting too. Personally I am fine with it … I decided at the start of this journey that I would leave my dignity in the car park when attending all appointments. I can totally understand your worry about other patients being able to see you on the monitor in the office/control room … again this is not something I had ever given a thought to until you mentioned it - now that you have said about it’s logical that all rads rooms will have cameras - I would say that if the monitor at your room is positioned so that patients speaking with the staff can see it then it is a matter that should be brought to the hospital’s attention immediately.

36

Hi All

Littletink - I am currently having radiotherapy at Leics Royal Infirmary, what sort of time do you usually go and how long left. I having 6 weeks and have done 3. Normally there about midday with a grey cap on.

I hadn’t actually thought about a changing area until reading this thread. I suppose after all the tests, chemo and mastectomy just feel already ‘bared’ myself so much I didn’t think about it. I agree there should be a changing area. I perhaps am not too bothered as the staff about half male, half female do make me feel at ease. Even though the art of quick changing is getting good. But that is not the point a lot of women, especially if have had a mastectomy, will feel humiliated and exposed. As stated earlier Leics Royal Inf. is a new building so it is strange that this hadn’t been included in the planning.

JulieL

37

Hi everyone,

Thanks for your kind comments re my rather terrible experience of radiotherapy. Can I just say though that I am not a person who is easily embarrassed or usually body conscious. I am very comfortable with my mastectomy, lots of people have seen it and it doesnt bother me much, so much so that i am not having reconstruction as I dont think it is worth the operation! I think that is why I was so terribly shocked by radiotherapy, it was really not like me at all to be so upset by it all. I

It cannot be too difficult for there to be a separate changing area in hospitals and to at least give people the dignity of putting a front opening gown on! I cant believe I am typing this as those things are so awful, however, a square of paper towel is so very very worse! As for being able to see the treatment bed from the front counter, well, I will be reporting that. I just feel bad that I havent done it before so that other people dont have to go through the same thing.

Good luck everyone with rads, it will be over before you know it.

Polly x

38

Hi Polly

Good for you. The vast majority of people just let things go even though they know they are wrong. It takes courage and strength to report people, but it has to be done in this case.

Good luck

Cathy
xxx

39

Hi all,

Polly53 I am currently having rads at Leics Royal Inf - there are other posts in this thread about the Radiotherapy Dept at the LRI - from Roadrunner and JulieL.

JulieL - all my appts are early morning 9.10 onwards - no later than 10, I run the gauntlet with the car park tariff every day - its a minor miracle when I am in, zapped and back in my car in just under 20 mins! - oh the bonus when it is free! I have 30 sessions, was my 14th session on Friday - so nearly half way. Thursday is the day when I am there longer, have to wait and see my ONC. Love the weekends no road rage! Hope you are doing ok.

40

Hi Dahlia

I had my rads at the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton last June and my experience was exactly as already mentioned by Carolihne. . I just took my clothes off on a chair in the room where the treatment took place. I was not offered a gown and like Carolihne said there were always lots of people waiting so you felt you had to change as quickly as possible. It didn’t bother me at the time but looking back i think it would have been nice to have had a gown and a cubicle to change in. The staff were lovely and somehow that seemed to make it ok.

See you soon.

Love Lollie x