i have been recently diagnosed and have had one treatment of chemotherapy.
i have been on the internet about going private and the best cancer clinics in the world and am lost. has anyone here had treatment abroad …usa? france. is it better. is it different. please help
Hi Sharda
Sorry to hear about your diagnosis. I am sure you will find good practical amd emotional support here.
You say you you have had one session of chemo. Are you very unhappy with your treatment at the moment? Can you explain, if you feel up to it, a little more about your medical situation? ( I have recently moved to France and become a French resident and I could possibly give you a little information about how things work here from a patient perspective).
Look forward to hearing from you.
X
S
The Marsden in London and Sutton, is known to be a centre of Excellence and is the best Cancer hospital in Europe and one of the best in the world. It is free and anyone can be referred as its a foundation hospital. My mum and many others on here are being treated there and the treatment is the second to none.
thanks for message,
I have had one treatment of FEC chemo and the next one is on 18th of this month. I have grading 2/3 breast cancer and all this is really very new to me… I feel the NHS medical side of things, as in the drugs etc. I am being given have and are going ok, but having been given the amazing funding to go private, I am now eager to see what there is out there that could perhaps make my treatment easier, more efficient and caring - I’ve always thought that private would allow these things and move you forward alot quicker which could be essential if in a situation where timing was all too important.
I am at a loss to know where/who are ‘the breast cancer care specialists’ - hope that makes sense?
kind regards
Sharda
Hi Sharda
I had my surgery privately but chemo was going to cost something ridiculous like £50k. It is hugely expensive. I dont think either that you can get radiotherapy privately, patients are referred by to NHS hospitals. I do think the standards of care in this country for cancer patients are on the whole very good and I’m not convinced they’re any better abroad. The big teaching hospitals usually attract the very best consultants so yes the London hospitals but also the big oncology centre in Leeds are very good. Good luck, C
Hi Sharda
Now I understand a bit better where you are coming from!
Having been treated in the UK and abroad, I feel that for me the difference in France has been not the treatment, but the speed and conditions under which it is delivered. (Scan results are very quick (same day for most things), and waiting times for consultant appointments are much shorter, hence any treatment programme itself starts in a much shorter timescale. In my local French state hospital chemotherapy treatment suites, each for a max of two people, are very comfortable - eg ensuite cloakroom). However, I suppose the important thing is that I am NOT at the moment getting any drugs that are not available in the UK. I’m getting Taxotere, by the way, although I have been given ice mittens here, which doesn’t seem to be usual in the NHS.
Thinking back to my treatment before I left the UK, I think I would have diverted any extra funds available to me into (more) private physio after rads when I had a lot of arm and shoulder trouble (and the NHS physios weren’t much help, I’m afraid) and a private room at the outset for surgery, to reduce stress from noise and improve my chances of sleeping and healing. These would have been my choices and no doubt others might have different suggestions.
Has this been any help?
X
S
I had my dx and surgery (WLE and node sampling) done private through medical insurance, but I had my oncology, radiotherapy and physio on the NHS - this was actually on my private consultant surgeon’s advice. I did not need chemo but at the time of advising me to go to the NHS to have my after surgery treatment my surgeon thought chemo may be a consideration. I must stress tho that the decision not to offer chemo was due to the grade/stage and type of my tumour and not because the NHS did not want to provide the care… had I needed it then they would have offered it.
I can honestly say that although the private room and the speed of the surgery etc was very good, the I got a wided range of treatments and access to more departments than I got in the private sector.
Hi Sharda
Do bear in mind that it can be very difficult when you cannot communicate effectively because of the language. Margaret
Speed isn’t as important as they make out provided you are diagnosed at an early enough stage, the best being a small tumour under 2 cm and no lymph node involvement. I think your treatment would be best in the country you live in, at a breast cancer centre of excellence, the Marsden in London has the best reputation as it has been a cancer hospital for its whole existence. Barts is also a centre of excellence for breast cancer. There are other good hospitals. I’ve heard private treatment can be lonely as you don’t get breast care nurses and you are away from other people with cancer. Personally I would have opted for a room to myself in hospital with en suite facilities but that is not essential to recovery. People don’t generally stay in hospital long for surgery these days.
Mole
Hi Sharda
I think Mole and Helen make good points.
Language CAN be a barrier, altho’ if you decide to seek private treatment abroad for whatever reason I imagine you would factor in the cost of a medical interpreter if you needed one.
I don’t think it would necessarily be a good idea to uproot yourself lock, stock and barrel to another country for treatment. As Mole rightly says, coping with another culture and health system whilst you are ill can be stressful. I have had to do it - wasn’t expecting to be plunged into surgery and chemo and only a few months after arriving - but - it happened.
There are no breast care nurses in the French system (I think French women consult a specialist doctor for that kind of care), so far as I am aware, but I haven’t found this to be a problem, as I have a much closer relationship with my GP here, which more than makes up for it. I would still choose a private room over sharing a ward with other patients, even cancer patients - I once spent an horrific 5 days on a ward in Cheltenham trying not to hear three other people boasting about the size of their tumours. There was NOWHERE to hide!
X
S
Christies Hospital in Manchester is another centre of excellence - only treating cancers. They a private wing if needed. Check them out on google.
Angela
What private healthcare gives you is a chance to jump any queues, a private room, and your choice of consultant. I can honestly say that I’ve been treated speedily since dx last January, wouldn’t swop consultant, have had tremendous support from BCN and nursing care has exceeded expectations. All as an NHS patient at a “centre of excellence” hospital.
Wouldn’t mind a private room for upcoming surgery but as someone pointed out, the camaraderie of the ward can be important.
So unless you’re really unhappy with aspects of treatment, why don’t you save private treatment for the specific elements of care you feel uncomfortable about? There ARE globally recognised consultants at work around the world, but these people are so specialised that they deal almost exclusively with rare or very problematic cancers and experimental treatments.
If you’re only looking for a more comfortable environment, there are all sort of 5-star hotel-type clinics who can cater for patients’ every whim, in the UK and abroad. Switzerland, for example.
Hi,
Memorial Sloan Kettering in New York is a top cancer hospital and America are way ahead of us on drugs in general, there is also a top centre in France but cannot recall the name.
I am not sure how easy it is to get referred to SK but have a cousin living nearby who has a millionaire husband and he chose to go there for cancer treatment and he has no financial restrictions. His was not BC but they say it is excellent for a number of cancers including BC. They also live in Florida but have all their treatment in NY in preference. It might be difficult to go somewhere too far if you have already started the chemo as another country may not use the same drugs. I have read the Susan Love breast books and she is talking about my current treatment as if it was an old one they used to use, when you consider the time taken writing and publishing the book, I think it makes them years ahead. She has a website if you want to see what she offers as she is the big guru over there, google susan love foundation. I would definitel go to USA myself in the future, if anything changed, but think that as long as you are in a centre of excellence, the UK does a good job. Good luck with your decision and hope it all goes well for you
Lily x
I have to say that if you can afford it Bupa provided me with excellent care for my mastectomy and recon, I had my chemo and Herceptin at Mount Vernon in Northwood and cannot fault them atall (chemo etc was on the NHS).
The Royal Marsden is fantastic if you can get a referral to them, I know they are steps ahead with regards to drugs and trials etc.
As for treatment in America I had a talk with a top Harley Street consultant and he explained how they take thier survival stats, they take all the richest states in the USA (those who can afford the best treatment) and collate thier data that way, leaving out poorer states where people maybe dont have adequate insurance or those who cannot afford it kind of screws those stats a bit, the UK is done as a whole which makes a massive diff…also if you want to go to the states and have to selll your granny to pay for treatment (which I received on the NHS for free) thats fine.
I have spoken to ladies in America who cannot afford Herceptin etc so its not neccessarily better.
The specialist cancer hospital near me is the Institut Claudius Régaud in Toulouse, where I understand Peacock from this site is being treated at this moment, so she may well have some useful observations when she is back online.
I have a German ‘chemo buddy’ who lives both here in France and in Germany and is somehow able to move between the two systems (both insurance based) with her EHIC. She is receiving Herceptin and is aware, from the paperwork, that it costs, I think about a third less in France than it does it Germany! It’s a funny old game!
x
S
I have just had a mast on NHS. I am very fortunate in that I work within the NHS and when I wasn’t happy with my initial consultant (I believe he mis-diagnosed me last year) I was immediately referred to the consultant of my choice - no questions asked. In fact my consultant is the same one I would have chosen had I gone private, but he actually urged me to keep my money safe and opt for NHS treatment as it can become messy if further treatment is required as the private hospitals and NHS ones don’t always communicate as well as they should!
However, saying that, everyone is entitled to the same treatment, it’s just not everyone is aware of it.
I went into hospital at 12.30 lunchtime and by 2.00 I was in the operating theatre…no worrying or hanging around. Our ward was for 4 ladies only, with our own bathroom etc. Nursing was brilliant and always done with humour. I stayed in 7 days due to my drains, which wouldn’t stop filling up!!
I have been told I will also be given access to herceptin or any other drug, should it be beneficial, with absolutely no need to apply for funding.
I am definitely not as knowledgable as most on here as regards different treatments etc, but I do know that my care has been very good so far.
Am just wondering, which area do you live in Sharda?
Hi Pheebster - very glad that you have received such excellent (drains are a PAIN, aren’t they?) care, and I agree with you that it does seem a shame, from reading your post, that people who don’t work in the NHS are less likely to aware of all their options within it.
I think your post highlights a huge difference between your experience of surgery in the UK and mine in France. They have a huge awareness of HAIs on the Continent. I was admitted for a minor op at the end of last year over here. I had to go in the night before and was accommodated in a two bed patient room with ensuite. The very last thing I had to do before going to bed the night before was scrub myself from top to toe, including hair, in Betadine (the orange/yellow hospital disinfectant that they use for wounds - you do get a lovely lather!). The very first thing I had to do in the morning was repeat this process, only minutes before getting on the trolley to go down for surgery. Apart from the gown you don’t wear a thing - no knickers, not even paper ones allowed (or provided!). No taping over rings, either - they have to come off.
As a newly arrived Brit, this was the first time I had encountered procedures such as these, but I imagine they must work as their infection rates are much lower.
X
S
Hello Bahons. Nice to meet you - just wish the circumstances were nicer…say, over a coffee and croissant in a pavement cafe!!!
I washed with hibi scrub before I left for hospital but I was amazed I was not asked to shower immediately before my op. I had no jewellery on and just some cotton briefs (which I threw away as soon as i could next day). I took loads of sterile wipes with me and my OH cleaned down absolutely everything around my bed before putting my clothes away and using my tray etc. The nurses loved me being on the ward as they said the bathroom had never been so clean…I cleaned it every time I used the toilet or shower and sterilised all the handles, seats, taps etc before I went in.I also boiled all my PJ’s etc once I got home and cleaned everything thoroughly. I was in a new hospital, so was lucky, but the cleaning methods have to be reviewed as they are just so sloppy. Sheets and blankets were clean on every day though, which I was surprised at.
I’m sure if we all had a little bit of foresight, there would be much less infection, and i think visitors should be kept to an absolute minimum too to reduce more risk.
(Sorry, if we’ve gone off subject a bit here)
Hi Pheebster
Coffee and croissant sound brill! Do you visit France regularly?
Your anti-infection precautions make interesting reading - and much like mine used to be. Unfortunately, I’ve been in hospital a lot over the years (not always cancer related) and I’ve always boil washed everything when I’ve got home. I’ve taken sterile wipes in with me too (gave the radio earphones particularly close attention) and I’ve always tried to open all doors with my elbows and not my hands (even at outpatients appointments, I have to say!).
I’m NOT a cleanliness freak (OH says ours is the only house he knows where you have to wipe your feet on the way out), but hospitals are full of sick people with weak immune systems. So I feel, as you do, that keeping one’s own immediate environment as clean as possible is a good thing, as is limiting contact with other patients (and their visitors - I agree, far too many are allowed) - I’m not particularly sociable when I’m ill, anyway.
Yes, we do seem to have wandered a wee bit off subject, don’t we! But these threads often do - and it’s interesting to see how the conversations develop!
Hi,
My sister and I were diagnosed with the same type of cancer a year apart - our treatment has been pretty similar - she went private and I went NHS. My chemo was over sooner than hers because i was part of a trial, otherwise timings were very similar in terms of getting appointments and results etc.
All she got that i didn’t was a private room. She didn’t get any BCN service and the support that goes with it. She had to pay for everything and re-claim… whereas i got free wig and prosthesis etc.
we are all different… but she got infections and i didn’t…
I know services vary across the country but don’t be fooled into thinking private is necessarily best - how about googling centres of excellence for Bc on the internet? i am treated at a hospital which is classed as a centre of excellence.
TC
Jennifer