Hi,
I have just had chemo no 6 and will soon be going herceptin only. It has been suggested to me that I use the healthcare at home service for this. Does anyone have any experience of this? Comments, tips, advice anything really appreciated to help me make a decision.
Thanks,
Snoogle
x
I had my chemo and Herceptin at home with Healthcare at Home. I thought it was good as there is no waiting around at the oncology centre. They contact you with a time when they will visit, usually a day or two beforehand and you can request, for example an early morning or late afternoon visit.
You have the nurse’s undivided attention and you often have the same nurse for several treatments so you build up a good relationship.
The down side can be that if you have dreadul veins like me, there isn’t another nurse to ask to try to cannulate if there is a problem. I had to have most of my Herceptins in the vein inside of my elbow and not all the nurses could do this, but they just noted that only certain nurses could visit me.
They bring all the equipment each time and the only thing you have to keep at home is a folder of notes.
The only thing that I sometimes feel that I missed out on was meeting other people in hospital.
I hope this helps
Anne
I had 9 out of 13 Herceptin infusions done by Healthcare at Home and found them really good. Usually there was just one regular nurse, but a few times they were showing a new one the ropes so there would be 2 of them. I didn’t worry too much about anything going wrong as they were in direct contact with an oncologist on the chemo ward of my hospital. I have terrible veins, but only experienced a problem once and the nurse rescheduled for 2 days later. I was told to get a topical anaesthetic cream on a prescription from my GP and to use it on my vein areas an hour before the nurse came.
It suited me to be treated like this as the hospital doing my Rads, Taxotere and Herceptin is a 50 mile round trip and we run a business from home. OH was here all the time and acted as the tea boy.
What is health care at home is it private insurance and how do you get it
In my case, the nearest hospital licensed to use Herceptin was 25 miles away and my Oncologist told me they use Healthcare at Home as it was a more cost effective way of delivering treatment; it also freed up the onco ward for patients on other medications. She said the only patients they saw at the hospital for Herceptin were ones experiencing problems.
I had 4 FEC chemo at a hospital 10 miles away, they were trained and licensed to give Taxotere, but not the Herceptin.
I’ve had the Healthcare at Home nurses and they’ve been brilliant. I’ve just had my 4th cycle of FEC yesterday and was more nervous than ever as I’d been sick on the 3rd cycle and also hospitalised.
We chatted about everything and anything yesterday, had lots of laughs and in no time treatment was finished.
They are in close contact with my Oncologist and for me also, it would be a 50 mile round trip, so it takes the hassle out of getting to appointments on time/relying on other people/parking.
Mine is offered through my private healthcare but I know that some NHS hospitals do use the service, though not all.
I know that they will meet you wherever you want them to, if you are working and need a blood test, they are happy to go to your office. I’ve even heard of one woman who had her chemo at the office.
I would highly recommend them, they’re a fabulous bunch!
I have the Healthcare at Home nurses for my chemo and they are great. Mine is done through private health insurance. They also come and do my bloods a day or so before chemo. I find it so much better than having to travel to the hospital, I just wait at home and she shows up, does her thing and goes. No fuss at all. I have the same nurse to deliver my chemo each time, she’s lovely very easy to get on with and we just sit & chat & watch tv while she administers the chemo.
My only criticism is that I don’t think the communication is great. It might just be my particular office (Colchester) but I often find I have no idea what time someone is coming (especially for the bloods) until they phone on the day and sometimes I have to chase to find out what’s happening. Makes it difficult to plan the day. Other offices might be better organised though, and although it’s irritating I think the benefits far outweigh it.
In fact, Kate my nurse is due here in about half an hour to give me the first dose of cycle 7. I don’t feel stressed, I don’t feel worried, I’ve just pottered round the house this morning very relaxed.
Actually I’m going on holiday a week on Saturday and they have said if I get a delay on this cycle I can have my 2nd dose at the holiday cottage in Norfolk. They are very flexible like that.
I had Health Care at home and I had a terrible experience!
I had my first chemo in the unit and being a needle/hospital phobic I thought it would be great to have it at home… Read on
The second chemo they came to take my bloods, they rang the next day told me it was fine, told me time they would arrive. I sat trying to relax listening to music. The nurse worked on me for 2 1/2 hours, she could not get my vein up. She rang for another nurse who came and basically said I had one vein left and if they damaged it that was it. By this time I was hysterical, so they rang the unit and chemo bag in hand I had to drive 20 miles, in a very distraught state to have my chemo put in. When the nurses eventually calmed me down, they got the vein first time, unfortunately I had a flash back and it burned so despite trying to bare it, she took it out and got it in another one. Needless to say for my third chemo I went back to the unit!!!
As someone else said here it’s great if you have good veins, but you only have one nurse whereas at the unit there are several. Of course they all used to fight to have me when I arrived, but I had 6 cycles and they got a vein every time.
Sarah
after 8 cycles of chemo and about half way thru herceptin I was offered home treatment by my onc as I too had a 50 odd mile round trip for treatment, but I declined for several reasons.
I started herceptin alongside Tax May 06 6 months prior to nice approval and when woman were still fighting for it, infact was told to keep quiet by the chemo nurses as 2 women in the same treatment room paying private and taking my local HA to the courts. I was always very wary of the costs and it was due to budget that I had to switch to the main county hospital as 1 nurse could look after several of us at the same time rather than use the local chemo suite 2 miles away.
Secondly my veins were and still are crap, even now I always take more than 1 nurse or dr to get a vein, I dreaded being at home and the nurse failing.
I personally didn’t want it at home either as I tried as much as possible to keep it away from my kids who were 8 and 6 at the time.
I needed a cancer free zone.
Some women swear by it, it wasn’t for me, in the second half of my treatment when it was approved and a couple more ladies came on board, I quite enjoyed their company every 3rd friday and the hospital fit my appt so that I could still do the school runs.
Debbie
I had my first lot of chemo in a hospital unit in 2003 and my recent chemo at home with Healthcare at Home and I think home is by far the best. When I had chemo in hospital they could never find a vein and I had to soak my arm in water, pump up the veins by rolling a ball for half an hour etc etc and it was a nightmare. With Healthcare at Home my Nurse, Judith gets a vein first time every time with no problems. We chat or watch daytime tv and the whole event is so relaxed. I am having Herceptin at home now but AXA PPP will only fund it for another 6 months, then I will have to get it on the chemo unit and I dread going back into that awful hospital environment.
Linda
I preferred it to hospital. Like Debsy, I started off at home before approval and went to the hospital once I could get it on the NHS. I found Healthcare at Home much easier psychologically because I wasn’t hanging around the cancer hospital all the time and it is a fairly depressing place.
Thanks everyone for their comments. Sounds like if its good its good and if its not its not. I need to give it some serious thought over next couple of days.
Thanks again
Snoogle
x
Hi,
Well, had my last herceptin at the hospital last week.
I will be starting with healthcare at home for the next dose. I am waiting to hear from them to arrange the date. How long before dose is due do you usually get contact from them?
Snoogle
x
I was contacted by them about a week after I had my last hospital dose of Herceptin, I got a letter explaining everything. The nurse then used to contact me the day before treatment to confirm a time with me. I was usually about 10 am, but there was the odd one that had to be changed to pm. I had one incident where the nurse could not get a vein, and she came back again 2 days later and did the infusion successfully. I had a regular nurse for most of them and another who came when she was on holiday, so you build up a bit of a rapport with them. It was quite emotional when she finished the last one and she gave me a big hug before she left.
Hi,
I had a phone call from them this morning. All set up for the afternoon of 26th August, although I will get a call a day or so before to confirm the exact time.
Snoogle
x
A while since I posted here, but just in case anyone is thinking about this at the moment wanted to say that I have been more than happy with this service. My ‘regular’ nurse is fantastic and very accommodating changing her schedule so that I didn’t miss my son’s Christmas play at school that clashed. I even had a nurse come to where we were staying on holiday and she was brilliant too! Would recommend this service to anyone.
It’s really a good idea…
getting older is never easy. These people need a special care. health care at home is always a priority in these situation.