Hundreds of patients have been seen at the new rapid cancer diagnostic service in Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy over the past year, offering praise for the life-saving help at a time of serious pressure on the NHS.
The new service allows people with non-specific symptoms to get a range of diagnostic tests within only a few days in an attempt to detect cancer earlier.
And patients hope their experiences will remind others to seek early treatment.
The positive feedback comes at a tough time for the NHS across the country – including claims health board executives even discussed how some people could pay in a two-tier system.
Health Secretary Humza Yousaf visited the hospital to hear from patients who shared their stories with The Courier.
‘It was absolutely amazing’
Tom Young, 60, from Dalgety Bay, went to his GP after seeing an advert on TV highlighting the signs of cancer.
He said: “In summer last year I was experiencing bowel problems for a couple of weeks and the advert I saw sounded very much like what I was experiencing.
“A couple of days later I went to the GP and I got blood tests and a CT scan within days to check my stomach, lymph bodes and kidneys.”
Mr Young only spent a fortnight going between hospitals in Dunfermline and Victoria because receiving a diagnosis.
He said: “People are having to wait months for an appointment, but I got several in a short period, it was absolutely amazing.
“Fortunately or unfortunately, I have chronic lymphocytic leukaemia which is very slow moving and not bad enough to receive treatment.
“But the haematologists are now on it and I will get check-ups and treatment when needed.”
He said getting a diagnosis so fast took away a lot of the anxiety of waiting for an appointment, as he was worried about how bad his condition might be.
Mr Young added: “I’m amazed because in this day and age there is so much discussion about how hard it is to get an appointment, so it was such a relief to be seen so quickly.”
‘Tremendous’ to be seen so quickly
Reverend Elizabeth Kenny, 78, from West Fife only needed to take nine months off work as a minister for Oakley Parish Church because she was seen so quickly.
She said: “I went to the GP because I was breathless and I had lost about a stone in weight.
“Within 48 hours I was contacted by the service at Victoria Hospital on December 22 and then saw the chest folk on December 28 and then got a chest scan, an abdominal scan and I saw an ENT consultant.
“There were no delays, and this was all over the Christmas period which makes it even more impressive.”
Fortunately, Rev Kenny was not given a cancer diagnosis, but the tests did flag up “significant” airway issues and reactive lymph nodes.
But she added it was “tremendous” to be seen so quickly as she had no time to think about what was happening.
As she was getting emergency appointments, she was even seen before her appointment letters were even delivered to her home.
‘They really deserve a pay rise’
Peter Ward, 66, from Dunfermline, was diagnosed with lung cancer after being referred to the fast track service.
He said everything happened “really quickly” and he can’t say enough about how good the service at Victoria Hospital is.
He said: “It only took a couple of weeks to find out exactly what was wrong and I was straight in, so I knew it must be serious.
“I got radiotherapy and chemotherapy and thought ‘Christ this is happening awfully quick’.
“The nurses are amazing and are worked off their feet but they still found time to come and speak to you – they really deserve a pay rise.
“The consultants keep you up-to-date as well and you feel they really are concerned about you.”
He said he was “surprised” at how quickly he was seen, particularly after hearing other people are having to wait “for months” to hear from their doctor.
Mr Ward will get the results of his current treatment on November 29, but says he “feels better” in himself so is hopeful it will be good news.
‘I was really lucky’
Elizabeth Wood, 81, from Kirkcaldy, was diagnosed with a range of health issues, but doctors were able to rule out cancer after she was referred onto the new service.
She said: “I discovered I had lost a stone in weight.
“At first I was thrilled, but then I thought ‘wait a minute, why did that happen?’”
After speaking to her doctor she had all the tests she needed done within a month.
She added: “I am amazed because I have friends waiting for scans but I was really lucky.
“They found some things on my lungs, fibroids on my womb, something on my bowel and diabetes.
“Mentally I was not very good after the lockdown so not having to wait and worry about it all was amazing, and amazing they would spend so much time on me at my age.”
Health Secretary visits fast track service
The rapid cancer diagnostic service was set up in Victoria Hospital last year along with two other centres in Ayr and Dumfries.
Since the three centres were set up, 12% of patients seen were given an early cancer diagnosis and a further 34% received a non-cancerous diagnosis.
On average it took just 14 days for each patient to go from being referred to the service to receiving their diagnosis.
At the Kirkcaldy hospital on Monday, Mr Yousaf said: “Providing primary care with a new referral route means this group of patients are able to understand the cause of their symptoms, and rule cancer in our out, more quickly.
“We are looking forward to the next two rapid cancer diagnostic centres opening in NHS Borders and NHS Lanarkshire that will build on these learnings.”
His visit came only hours after it was reported NHS bosses had discussed making richer people pay for their NHS treatment.
Mr Yousaf told The Courier he had no idea NHS chiefs ever suggested charging some patients and said he’d been completely in the dark.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon quickly said the idea is “not up for debate”.
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