Does anyone have any experience of the Calderdale PCT handling of reconstructions?
The reason I am asking is I was talking to a lady on my last chemo session who had a mastectomy on 1 breast. She had very large breasts and said that she asked them to remove both of them as she says that they are uneven and she never liked them anyway as they are cumbersome.
She was told that under Calderdale PCT that they will not do any surgery on healthy breast tissue and seeing as the other breast didn’t have tumours etc that they won’t do anything with it.
This has concerned me because I had a WLE and 1 breast is now smaller than the other. I’d prefer after treatment to have them both replaced with implants. The reason for this is that I’ve got the feeling if I have an implant in 1 but not the other, in a few years time I’m going to have 1 breast in 1 place and 1 in another as the natural 1 will sag more surely? I’m a DD Cup!
El Kat - do you mean Calderdale NHS Trust? PCTs are normally just GP surgeries, dentists and opticians.
Calderdale and Hudds is a foundation trust - they’re the top-performing type of NHS hospitals - they normally do the best stuff.
The only dealing I have with them is that they have renal satellite units that I have some contact with through work.
That’s all I know, sorry.
Doesn’t mean that they’ll do it if they class it as unnecessary though. It depends on their rules and fundings.
I know from the fertility stuff that other people have been able to have 1 shot at IVF for free despite already having children but not under Calderdale.
hi, i am in bradford and have had a similiar conversation with my consultant. I have a micro met in in the sentinel node. The guidelines they follow are the Yorkshire Cancer Network guidelines. This means in the yorkshire area an axillary clearance is recommended. in other trusts/areas they feel that chemo/rads will mop this up and dont do axillary clearance. I also have large breasts and was told that if they did a mx, which they would if requested, (altho at this stage not entirely necessary) they would not do anything with the other one, ie remove or reduce. I was told this was the YCN network guidelines. I am assuming Calderdale/Hudds is in this network as well so I guess thats why they are telling you this. My guess is that if I did come to have a mx, then would have to pay privately for reduction of other breast. A fun few years ahead if I went down this road. Am hoping the surgery in the morning will be conclusive enough for me not to have a mx. good luck
I am in Bradford too and I had Mx with immediate strattice reconstruction then later had the “good” breast enhanced to match my reconstructed breast, on NHS. My original boobs were tiny A cups and I was recostructed as a C cup. Surely they will reduce the size of the “good” breast to match the recon side, to make them match up? I had no problem getting this done.
Hi, I’ve just come home from York hospital having had a reduction on my “good” side following a mastectomy in August 2009. I assume that York is covered by the Yorkshire Cancer guidelines. As far as I was aware it’s classes as continuing breast cancer treatment. I hope to have some more lipofilling at a later date.
Right - I’ve now spoken with my BCN and got the FACTS.
They like to leave any reconstruction work until a year after Radiotherapy to give the skin time to heal properly and for everything to settle down as much as possible.
They CAN operate and put in implant on the healthy breast to match up with the breast that had the WLE done on it, she says that they take into consideration ALL facts and also, if you are younger then theres more time for your breasts to sag (I was worried about gravity taking effect down the line, having one boob up by my neck and one down by my waist - I’m a DD cup) so would be even more of a reason to operate on the healthy boob and have a matching implant in that one too to get symmerty and longevity.
She said that I don’t have to worry too much about it in my case.
So there you go.
The woman I spoke to was misinformed or didn’t explain herself properly - they wouldn’t have done a mx on a healthy breast immediately whilst taking off the existing breast with the tumour in it - but they will later down the line if that is what she wants, after all treatment.
Aye, that’s what I’d heard happens in Leeds. Too bad that I can’t have an immediate recon due to the rads; I’ll have to live with whatever kind of prosthesis I need - they’re still unclear how radical my resection is going to be. Waiting a year then having another op is going to be bad.
Like you, I’m generously-endowed; always used to joke to OH that I’d be happy to have a boob reduction. He’d say, “Don’t you dare, they’re perfect”, but he doesn’t have to carry them round. Having two tidier ones sounds lovely. I can see this going on and on.
Yeah I was surprised that I had to wait a year after rads, I had no idea about that! I saw other people having immediate recon done so assummed I could if I wanted to, which I did! Turns out thats people who don’t have rads.
I’m starting to think that Calderdale Royal Hospital only tell me things as I ask and don’t seem to volunteer info, despite surely being aware that I’m the sort of person that needs and wants to know things, even bad things I’ve “coped” with quite well considering.
Saying that, I’ve spoken with quite a few fellow chemo patients and 95% of those DONT WANT TO KNOW ANYTHING which I find extraordinary, each to their own but I’m afraid I like to be in control as much as I can and aware of my treatment etc. And to be fair, I’ve only come across 1 person around my age, the rest have been 50+, maybe its a generational thing to an extent… Or perhaps it’s small town mentality instead of city mentality.
I’m a bit bummed that I have to wait a year, I have no job to return to, I have to find a few job and I finish immediate treatments (chemo/rads) end of October, worst time of the year for finding a job.
Ho Hummm.
Ha ha Ninja, I said about a reduction, my OH was horrified - LOL. Carrying around DD Cups are no fun and I’ve had small boobs in the past, to be fair most of them are down to my weight problems and PCOS. I was a B cup at Size 10. I’m thinking C Cup would be good. I’ll see what I decide and what plastic surgeons say nearer the time.
My Mum went for chemo at Calderdale Royal and didn’t like their ways - I think again, lack of full information up front, surprise at being asked questions. A feel that they thought she was asking too much or being too involved etc, she basically felt ill at ease with her wanting to know everything.
She did not feel this when she went to St James in Leeds and eventually started going to Cookridge near Horsfall. Both “Large City” establishments where I suppose they get a different type of people? (Eg. More engaged, more questioning etc)
As I’ve said, all bar 1 of the people I’ve met in chemo so far have been a LOT older than me, most have been in their 60’s+ but an “old” mentality 60’s+, my stepdad is in his 60s and very young for his age and highly intelligent, runs his own business etc.
I think there can be a cleckhuddsfax thing going on. I’m just so shocked that nearly ALL the people I have spoken with there don’t ask questions or even know what poisons they’re having! Like they don’t want to know and put complete blind trust in medics to get it right all the time. No disrespect to medics BTW, just that they are NOT gods and they do get things wrong, they are human.
One woman who was 67, had breast cancer too, I said “are you on EC Chemo?” and she looked at me blank and said “I’m just on chemo love” and I said “what type though, there are hundreds but most people seem to be on EC for BC” and she said “ehhh I don’t know, they just hook me up and off I go” - ??? Now i know they tell people what they are on and what side effects etc. I probed a bit more and said “Oh I like to know everything that’s going on so I feel like I have some control, don’t you?” and she said “No, they know what they’re doing and I hope for the best”
I just don’t get it but that’s my personality.
A *LOT* of them are like that in there. No wonder they say in the unit “jokingly” that “Oh we’re going to have trouble with you aren’t we” - trouble? Only if you’re not doing things right
Oh Crikey, El Kat, that sounds very weird. Must be the small town thing. The mentality that gives all we Tykes a bad name. ‘Ferrets and flat caps’ country.
Cookridge near Horsforth closed down in 2008 and it was moved into the Yorkshire Institute of Oncology aka Bexley Wing at St James’s. It’s a fab place; I was in there every week with work so know it very well. The old ward/clinic names from Cookridge have stayed and are still in use e.g. Nightingale unit. I’m not getting main treatment there but I do use their boob MRI scanner when needed.
Doctors are definitely NOT gods, they’re just chaps and chapesses with a qualification different to mine.
I seem to be the youngest one having chemo, too, never seen anyone in there except me going commando; they ALL wear wigs - must be an older-person thing. My tum tends to bloat up and down at lot at the mo so I’m wearing leggings a lot. Def never see the other clients in leggings!
Ferrets and Flat Caps Yorkshire then… well no it’s more blue rinse wigs and beige coats, men and women.
I come in with my blue painted nails (taxotere) and headscarves and QUESTIONS
Staff should be prepared to deal with people who ask questions surely. They should now how to deal with all types of people, levels of intelligence or inquisitiveness (is that actually a word or a Kateism) They are customer-fronting after all. I never treated all my customers the same way, I tailored approaches to the individual without patronising - maybe that’s why I was such a good sales account manager and made a lot of money. I also always asked if I’d covered everything, if there was anything they weren’t sure about, wanting clarifying or would like me to follow up with written communication as well, always leaving the door open later if they wanted to come back to me with queries.
Yes, even with high workloads and short staffing.
Stretchy Pants Ninja - they’re the way forward My jeans are getting very very tight and may have to ditch them too. No Leggings for me, I’m vastly overweight and do not look good in tight fit - may go for the tracky bottoms Waynetta Slob look now, mostly don’t venture out in that slobbing at home look at is not flattering for me but may just not care very soon.
Looks like I will have to re challenge the breast surgeon. They were very clear they wouldn’t do anything with healthy breast altho think they are a bit rabbits in the headlights with my “ample breasts”.
Well I fell completely insulted Katie…I received fabulous treatment at Calderdale Royal Hospital, was kept fully informed throughout the process (mast & chemo) and could not have asked for a better medical team. I was 49 when I received chemo three years ago, and I have to say I don’t recognise your description of the people on the chemo unit either staff or patients!
Thank you for making us Calderdale people feel so inadequate - really appreciate it!
Hi JanetD - why have you taken this personally? The key here is “3 years ago” and another key is… this is my personal experience of it, not everyone’s going to feel the same. I talking about 6 treatments here.
And yes this is my experience so far… I won’t apologise for that
Whoops
Yorkshire then… well no it’s more blue rinse wigs and beige coats, men and women.