Is anybody else as fed up as I am that lots of support is available is available in major centres but not in rural areas and small towns. In major centres there are secondary breast care nurses, psychologists/counsellors, dieticians/nutritionists, specialist physiotherapists and Maggie’s centres. I live in the country and have to travel to my nearest town for treatment where we secondaries have none of the above. I’m afraid to say that Breast Cancer Now is no better. I’ve just investigated their face to face groups and whilst I accept not all are up and running after Covid all the ones that are, are in big cities. Meanwhile we country-bumpkins are left to deal with everything on our own. I suggested to my hospital that secondary breast cancer patients need a specialist nurse I was more or less ignored and 18 months on there still isn’t one. Even the helpline doesn’t operate locally at the weekend. I was told I’d be put in touch with the on-call doctor for my area when I had cystitis one Sunday. When he rang some 6 hours later he revealed he was in Manchester, 50 miles from where I live. I had to research which chemist offered a 24 hour service because it was now too late to go to the on-call chemists who closed at 5 or 6. I then had to ring him back with their phone number. What a farce!
It makes me quite depressed to think I might have a better quality of life or even a longer life if I had access to professionals who understand what secondary breast cancer patients are going through. Contact with local ladies in a similar situation, to share info etc would be great too but how do I find them?
Rant over but I would love to hear what other rural ladies and gents who feel isolated think, and any suggestions as to how we can highlight our lack of support.
LLass 
