An elderly breast cancer patient is still waiting for her treatment nearly four months after her diagnosis due to staff shortages at her hospital.
Patricia Patterson had her cancerous breast tissue and lymph nodes removed nearly 10 weeks ago but her follow-up appointments have been repeatedly cancelled.
Her hospital’s histopathology department – where tissue samples are analysed in a lab – blamed staff shortages worsening overwhelming backlogs for the cancellations which have left Mrs Patterson ‘absolutely terrified’ about the potential cancer spread.
The 72-year-old was promised by doctors that this ‘would all be over by March’ when she was diagnosed on Christmas Eve.
‘But here I am, still waiting,’ Mrs Patterson told MailOnline as she sighed, holding back tears.
Without the results, her doctors cannot plan for the next step in her treatment plan and the former lollypop lady is anxious to begin either chemotherapy or radiotherapy.
Mrs Patterson said: ‘I just want to get started with my treatment and get it out of the way so I don’t have to keep worrying.
‘Even if I get the test results back this week, how long will I have to wait before I can actually start my treatment?’
Patricia Patterson, a former lollipop lady, has been waiting months for her test results after she had cancerous breast tissue removed
Mrs Patterson is her husband Michael’s carer, after he was diagnosed with terminal cancer
The 72-year-old is one of 18 people who have had their appointments cancelled week on week
Mrs Patterson also has to care for her husband, Michael, who is ‘very poorly’ with terminal cancer.
‘If something happens to me, who is going to look after Michael? When you’re married you just want to be there for each other but now I can’t shake this thought in the back of my mind what if something happens to me,’ Mrs Patterson said.
Ms Patterson is one of 18 patients who have had their appointments to discuss their test results at The James Paget University Hospital cancelled week on week.
‘This isn’t just about me,’ Mrs Patterson said.
‘There are 17 other people whose lives are on the line here.
‘I feel completely let down by these delays – I’m just terrified they will get back to me after it’s too late.’
Standard practice would see these results returned within twelve weeks but MacMillan Cancer Support have said biopsy results ‘are usually ready within a few days’.
The Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital (NNUH), who do the histopathology for The James Paget, said they have ‘a current shortage of some key laboratory staff who are essential to enabling the processing of samples’.
NNUH Medical Director Dr Bernard Brett said ‘we recognise that there is now a backlog to work through and our teams are working extremely hard to ensure patients are seen in a timely fashion so they can receive their ongoing treatment’.
The Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital have blamed a ‘current shortage of some key laboratory staff’ for the holdup
Mrs Patterson said the cancer doctors she interacts with ‘deserve an absolute medal’ but it was the ‘system that was broken’
‘When I was diagnosed on Christmas Eve, my doctor told me everything would be over by the end of March, but here I am, still waiting’ Mrs Patterson said
‘When you’re married you just want to be there for each other but now I can’t shake this thought in the back of my mind, ”what if something happens to me?”
‘We apologise to anyone who has had appointments cancelled or ongoing treatment delayed – we are working hard to try to prevent this from happening in the future,’ he added.
The hospital have previously said 90 per cent of urgent and two-week wait samples are reported within 10 working days.
NNUH added they had several ongoing digital projects to improve efficiency, including ‘the purchase of slide scanning equipment which helps to address increasing case complexity and demand’ for the histopathology department.
Dr Brett believed the digitisation process would lead to ‘radical improvements through innovations in laboratory workflow’ as ‘images will be available for clinicians to view wherever they are’.
Mrs Patterson said she was told that the ‘lab staff are willing to work over time but the powers-that-be won’t pay them’ to go through the backlog.
She highlighted that all the cancer doctors and nurses she interacts with ‘deserve an absolute medal’ but it was the ‘system that’s broken’.
More than 6.4 million people are currently waiting for 7.4 million treatments on the NHS.
Earlier this year, the Daily Mail revealed that a record number of cancer patients are paying for private treatments instead if risking waiting for the health service.
Chemotherapy at private hospitals jumped by almost a fifth in 12 months, the biggest surge in any procedure.
