Hi,
Is anyone having treatment at The Royal Marsden Hospital London?
Jenna x x x
Hi Jenna, I am being treated at the Roydal Marsden Sutton. I have been under them for five years, first for my primary in 2006 and continually until my diagnosis of secondaries just over a year ago, I cannot fault them. Dont know if I can be of any help to you. Take care Marinaxx
I was also treated at the Sutton branch. The Royal Marsden is the premier hospital! You’ll be in safe hands.
Best wishes,
AlexG
Thank you, my mum has been under our local Hospital since 2007 and we have got so use to being able to call when we need them and got use to dealing with the oncologists, surgeons, breast nurses its just now mum has the referal to The Royal Marsden London its a bit scary !!!
Its nice to know you both have good comments and its sounds to be one of the best?
Thank You
Jenna x
As I live in Devon i was unable to afford the time to go and see them at the Royal Marsden so they did a written second opinion which was fantastic as they recommended two things that my oncologist had forgotten RADIOTHERAPY AND whether or not to have my lymph nodes removed. Excellent hospital. They also took the trouble to ring and explain things to me at 7.00pm in the evening. I would say anyone who can get treated there you are so lucky. I am envious.
Ladies especially hatty thank you so much for your words I have been getting really panicky and all I can say is that this forum has helped me a great deal and like you say hatty she is very lucky to be getting an opinion and consultation at the Marsden but not lucky she has this horrible disease. I spoke with the secertary of the ocologist today and I must say they are very understanding and helpful. Wow 7pm in the evening thats something you can’t fault hey.
Lots of you ladies are being seen at the Sutton Branch is it just dependent on where you live then? Or treatment basis?
Thanks Jen x x x x
Hi,
Couldn’t help but put in my two pennyworth!. I had my surgery at Sutton and am under them with the breast and lymphoedema teams, but my PS now only operates out of the Fulham Road branch so have had the last 3 ops up in London. I must admit, I do get a bit confused when I receive appts as to where I am supposed to be!!!
The treatment at both hospitals is brill, so please don’t worry, they are really good to you and your family.
Maggie
Is she transferring hospitals for treatment-or just having a second opinion from the Marsden? The latter is done regularly for many of us-really just to get new insights, or to confirm our present oncs opinions on our treatment. I should have been seeing them a few weeks ago-to discuss a drug trial in which I am particularly interested-but have postponed this for a few months. To date they have been very helpful, and it’s good to know we can access yet more information and opinions.
Hi ElaineD,
Well the oncologist said she wanted to get an opinion from the Marsden and if it meant treatment at the Marsden then so be it. Mum has already had FEC, Taxotere, Herceptin, and Lapatnib at the local hospital but because she relapased so soon meaning the cancer returning so quickly she wanted an opinion from them? It doesn’t mean treatment there yet just a clinic consultation then I assume we will know what’s going to happen.
I am useless when it comes to waiting around for decisions, just want everything done now. I see after your post it may mean mum still had treatment at the local hospital just maybe the Marsden will confirm a plan or try new drug? All very confusing
Thanks Jen
I imagine that treatment will continue at her local hospital after the oncs have conferred on her case. Unless she were to embark on drug trials (this could be a possibilty for her), in which she would have to attend for treatment and monitoring at the Marsden. This would be very time consuming for her if the case-drug trials need so much additional testing and monitoring, that appointments (in general) work out to be roughly every 10 days. Eventually I will go ahead with the particular trial in which I’m interested, and this will mean attending the Mrasden (we live in Exeter), for treatment every 3 weeks, with many mid cycle appointments for tests too. The resulting exhaustion this will cause me does concern me.
But, unless your Mum chooses to go down this route, the likelihood is that the oncs will discuss her case-some new ideas/recommendations may be made, or her present course of treatment may be deemed adequate. In either of these scenarios there is no reason for her treatment not to continue at her local clinic, where she knows the team and is known to them. Good luck.
Elaine D i am also from Exeter and have considered going to the Marsden for lymph node removal when my surgery time comes around, it is the cost and time of travel to London so hope all goes well for you and will watch with interest as to how you get on.
Just to add, that I had my first surgery and treatment at the Royal Marsden, then opted for my local hospital second time around and actually prefer the local option. Marsden has a great (and well deserved) reputation, but they get their staff from the same pool as everyone else. They do have better equipment and some better diagnostics than some other hospitals if you need them, so they are useful for second opinions, or for when you need anything special.
Oncologists and surgeons share knowledge, learnings and findings amongst themselves when anything new is discovered and as a group, they are always on the look out for increasing their knowledge - so, I feel confident that my local onc and surgeons are very aware of anything going on in other hospitals and they seem to keep in touch with colleagues that they trained with (who are all over the country).
We are lucky we can choose where to go and each to his own, but just to add in a different perspective, for me, local has been better.
Annie
Sorry…don’t mean that RM is no good. I just put my post up in case other people reading it might feel that if they can’t get the the Marsden, they might not be getting the best treatment.
Annie
Can anybody, from anywhere in the country be referred for a second opinion at the Marsden? I assumed that being a northerner that if we wanted a second opinion it would be Christies in Manchester. (I have never tried this path it was just an assumption)
At our local hospital we are treated by staff from Clatterbridge which is a specialist oncology unit, at our hospital, but the staff and ‘treatments’ come from Clatterbridge. We have to go there for radiotherapy though - that’s not so portable :o) I am then under an orthopaedic hospital for my bone mets. So I am technically being treated by 3 hospitals at the same time! I haven’t yet turned up in the wrong place at the wrong time YET though!
Jen - I hope your Mum gets her treatment plan sorted out to everybody’s satisfaction! I wish all your family well! I spoke to you briefly on chat last Tuesday and am really impressed by how much you are looking out for her. Hugs and best wishes to you all!
You can check your Oncs training and experience. Google or go to public library or ask them!
Mine is very experienced and spent 14 years training at the Royal Marsden and now does NHS work from Royal Surrey, Guildford and Frimley Park in Camberly.
I found this website helpful, but it is not the only source of inforamtion!
Thanks everyone its made it slightly clearer on everything, just gets a little confusing and like most of you have said it still may mean Mum gets treated at her local hospital but her oncologist just wanted to check other options out and being though she has been on a trial drug already maybe this is another factor of the opinion from the Marsden.
Its nice to have everyone’s opinions. Nicky65 Thank You for your lovely words it means alot. I hope after Monday Mum can get a plan in place and obviously we will take everything that is given to us. I was there every step of the way first time round and certainly different know I’m not living at home but I intend to be there every step of the way this time.
Its given me hope being on this forum this time round because when you think “is it just me” “should i be feeling like this” “is it normal” you know that there are plenty others feeling exactly the same and its not just you.
Hugs to you all
x x x x
Hi Jenna, You are such a good, caring daughter, my daughter is the same she helped and supported me first time around and is doing so now on our second journey, believe me it makes such a difference. I am lucky to have the Marsden just half an hour away, many people are send there for second opinions as we are all such individuals what works for one does not for another that is why this horrid disease is so unpredictable and we all react differently to treatments, I think it is really good that you Mum’s oncologist is referring her. I know how you must feel at the moment not knowing quite where she will be treated but it will soon all be sorted out and they will make you feel very much at home at the Marsden, from the reception staff, nurses and doctors they are all amazing so you have nothing to fear.
I will be thinking of you, do let us know it all goes.
Take care
Marina xx