Hello
I’ve just had a third excision to remove breast cancer cells on the margin under local anaesthetic. I had no idea I might be in pain during surgery, during the operation I was informed I would be told what was happening, I wasn’t. I was topped up three times with anaesthetic. No pain relief advice given, no meds given to me to take home. A very traumatic experience. Felt so vulnerable. Can anyone advise the best way to give feedback?
2 Likes
Sounds awful , I’m sorry you have had to go through that . You could maybe contact the PALS office at the hospital who treated you and make them aware of your experience ? I’ve had mixed experience with this service but my contact with them did move an issue forward and eventually get it resolved .
Thank you very much.
1 Like
I’m so sorry this happened to you . I would reiterate Jill’s advice re contacting PALS . You don’t say whether this procedure was done as an inpatient or an outpatient or who was present but I would contact your BCN service and tell them how unhappy you are and that you are contacting PALS . I hope that your pain is under control - they would probably just say to take mild painkillers regularly like Paracetamol and ibuprofen providing you are able to take that . Sometimes though when pain has been severe it can be harder to get it under control NHS 111 /GP / Pharmacy may be able to help.
I think that you should have been given some advice and a number to call if you had any concerns about your wound / pain etc. at the very least and this is another reason to contact your BCN . I’m quite surprised that this procedure was offered to you under local anaesthetic when it was your third time .
I had my first procedure as part of a medical trial to remove my cancer with radiological guidance in the Breast Care Unit under local anaesthetic as an Outpatient . I wasn’t in pain but it became obvious from the behaviour of the staff that it wasn’t going well and was taking far too long but I couldn’t do anything about it - I just had to lie there . I had put myself into a place of calm but all sorts of emotions were bubbling up underneath . I asked the Radiologist at the end and she admitted that she thought the procedure had failed - it had but it took 7 very long weeks to confirm what I already knew . I did get some instructions for afterwards and the staff were nice at the time but considering that it was the first procedure of this kind at my hospital and it had gone wrong I thought there might be a follow up phone call but there wasn’t - I can remember feeling like a discarded guinea pig. A local anaesthetic often seems like the best option and usually it is but the flip side is that if it goes wrong you remember everything .
I really hope that they have got everything this time and that you don’t have to have another procedure. Writing it all down might help you to get it out of your system and may help you organize your thoughts if you decide to report it.
Sending love xx