Forum Discussion
Radiotherapy patient or sheep?
I thought I would post about my experience in radiotherapy and see if others feel the same way.
On the whole I have found it a highly dehumanising experience.
In the clinic I go to they send you through to change into a gown then you wait in a patient-only waiting area in your gown until called through for treatment. This would be okay but a couple of times I have been left waiting in my gown for more than half an hour and couldn't understand why they sent me through while knowing the treatment room was running way behind schedule. It made me feel like a sheep waiting for shearing rather than a human being.
Several times they have let non-patients sit in the patients waiting area which I hate. Who wants to sit there in a dressing gown in a room with fully clothed strangers, especially male strangers?!
They never let you know in advance when they are running behind schedule. The other day I had an 8.35am appointment and was kept waiting in my gown for forty minutes. I live only ten minutes away and could have stayed in bed for an extra snooze had they let me know.
In addition, there isn't the personal interaction with the medical staff that I had during chemo as the technicians are different faces from day to day. Sometimes they even change shift during the treatment session, to go to lunch, so two get me set up then a different two emerge from the booth at the end!
In summary, it seems like the whole setup is geared to the convenience of the staff rather than having patients' comfort in mind.
They never let you know in advance when they are running behind schedule. The other day I had an 8.35am appointment and was kept waiting in my gown for forty minutes. I live only ten minutes away and could have stayed in bed for an extra snooze had they let me know.
In addition, there isn't the personal interaction with the medical staff that I had during chemo as the technicians are different faces from day to day. Sometimes they even change shift during the treatment session, to go to lunch, so two get me set up then a different two emerge from the booth at the end!
In summary, it seems like the whole setup is geared to the convenience of the staff rather than having patients' comfort in mind.
I could go on, but thank goodness my treatment ends on Monday, I will be glad to see the back of that place!
23 Replies
- Hi @Vangirl, I can relate to your feelings about radiotherapy. It always felt like I was waiting for a bus. I found mindfulness really useful during this period of time and found that I withdrew a bit from the world as a means of protection. I used to close my eyes and picture a beach when I was having radiotherapy. I went there after work and it was tiring. I was cranky and exhausted after 6 months of chemo.
I also referred to radiotherapy as feeling like starting a new job that you don’t want. The radiotherapist spoke to me in a sing songy voice and drove me nuts, but she gave me the biggest hug on my final day and was kind at heart. Hopefully you’ll be finished soon and looking back on it as a distant memory. All the best. - Thanks @arpie I am off on holiday shortly after radiotherapy, before returning for surgery in October so I will have a nice break!
- Hi @Vangirl - I am so sorry you've had a trying time of your radiation. :( It is always a tad stressful at the best of times. When I had mine - I waited out in the main waiting room (where tea & coffee & biscuits & a gigantic jigsaw puzzle & lots of magazines were available to everyone.) Then, called thru to get 'gowned' ... I would always take a magazine in with me to read, as some of my waits were quite long too. One of the machines had 'broken down' (as mentioned by @JoeyLiz) so an even longer wait on one day.
I hope all goes well for you on Monday on your last treatment - don't be surprised if you may even feel a little 'emotional' about it, even tho you've had a bumpy ride.
Take care, I hope you can have a nice break after the rads xx Having other people sitting in the waiting room is a little disconcerting. I can understand why they are there, but its not very comfortable if you are feeling stresses and exposed.
I had some issues with one staff member during rads, but the rest of it was OK. It was a very new facility --had only been open 6 months--so there hadn't been sufficient time to build up a really shitty culture. The two rad oncs also have a pecuniary interest in the facility, so they are likely to make sure it retains a good reputation. There were two occasions where the machinery broke down while I was already in the car and they contacted me straight away and told me to head home. We made up those missed treatments at the end. I don't think I ever waited any more than 15 minutes in my gown, and that was because some old dude who had the appointment in front of me couldn't stay still and kept setting off the alarms before being repositioned. No way of planning for that.
- Thanks @"Beryl C." I will make sure I let them have my feedback. You're exactly right, the whole situation has been that much more distressing because of feeling fragile and vulnerable, having been a cancer patient since March, and being just a little bit over it!
- Vangirl I hope you write the letter. Medical and health services need to be informed about the impact of their actions and procedures. I have an image of you standing in your 'gown' yelling, 'Hey! I'm here! Human being under stress - this is about my life! Can you see me?!' In other words, please let me know that you understand I am real, not feeling the best, I'm overwhelmed and shaky. Your comments give me the impression that their ability to relate with their patients needs a lot of work. Don't worry if the tone of your letter is emotional, this is right and expected under the circumstances. This is your lived experience of their lack of ability to be considerate and relate to patients etc. If you have the energy give a precise description of each experience and follow this with a description of the impact this had on you. Patients should not leave a health facility feeling distressed because staff are lacking in their attention to patient overall well being. xBeryl
- Thanks @LMK74, useful to have a positive perspective for comparison.
- I can only speak highly of my radiation treatment in a public hospital. I only ever waited 5 minutes in my gown and had the same staff throughout who were awesome. I guess each medical facility is different in the way they operate.
- Hi @Sister not a private patient, just a privately run clinic - ie not part of the hospital but located within the hospital. Which doesn't excuse treating patients like sheep. They are being paid for their services, just not by me!
- I was thinking that's terrible @vangirl and then I saw your next comment that you are actually paying for this treatment. I went public and couldn't speak of them highly enough. Out of 15 treatments, there were probably only about 3 where I had to wait but that was in the main waiting room with my clothes on. Often I would be out before my appointment was due to begin. Twice I was called in to get changed and had to wait a few minutes in a private area near the radiotherapy room in the gown as they hadn't quite finished with a patient. Everyone was friendly, from the receptionist at the front, to the medical staff. I think that twice, one of the radiotherapists changed during the treatment. And I got this for free! The only awkward part about it was not knowing for sure until the day before what time the treatment would be but it generally only changed by 10-15 minutes.
