"Excellent Care and Treatment for Ovarian Cancer"

I recently had successful treatment for ovarian cancer at St Bart's where I received exceptional care. Fortunately, as the cancer was caught so early, the only treatment I needed was surgery. Having never had an operation before I was unaware of how many people would be involved in looking after me and monitoring my progress and the team of staff who cared for me were all kind, caring, friendly and professional. I would especially like to thank the team who looked after me on the evening/night of 2nd March, when I ended up on a drip and nasal drain. Throughout what was a traumatic experience, I felt safe as the staff were incredibly kind and caring and clearly explained what they thought was wrong and the investigations and treatment that were planned. They were especially good at gradually getting me prepared for the nasal drain. I would also like to thank the staff for the support I received once I had been discharged and experienced complications 2 days later. The fact that I was able to contact the ward and Clinical Nurse Specialist to discuss what was happening was very reassuring and I would especially like to thank my surgeon who rang me personally to discuss my symptoms. We decided the best option was for me to go to my nearest A&E (Whipps Cross) for further investigations and he made sure I had their mobile and they had mine so they could find out how I was progressing. This personal attention was very impressive and much appreciated by my family and I. The general aftercare and support including regular check ups for 5 years, a Health and Well Being appointment with and ongoing access to the Clinical Nurse Specialist and access to information and free workshops offering practical advice to cancer survivors, is also excellent. I am incredibly lucky to have survived ovarian cancer, which has the lowest survival rate of all the female cancers and for living in a country where access to cancer treatment is free so all I had to do was concentrate on getting better. Thank you Bart's and thank you NHS for such excellent care and support.