Interview 30

Age at interview: 58

Age at diagnosis: 56

Brief Outline: Diagnosed with colorectal cancer in 2001, followed by a total colectomy (removal of the large intestine) 2002. Secondary tumours found in the liver in 2002, treated with radiotherapy and chemotherapy.

Background: Industrial pipe fitter (retired), married, 2 childrena

More about me...

a

A shortage of nurses led to insufficient care at times.

Now whether it's numbers [of staff] I don't know, but I've found that the waiting period for some innocuous things like a bed pan or something like that people have got themselves in such a state about a simple thing like that because they were bedridden and things like that. 

And I don't know, I think it needs doing, it needs to be geed up somehow, the treatment of the nursing staff and the general staff to the patient like you know, but obviously you get, you get the exception to the rule and you get some wonderful, wonderful nurses that are running around doing above and beyond their duty but I find generally speaking that there all stretched. There's no question about that like.

Says a hospice is more relaxed than a hospital and he is never forced out of bed.

I mean, I'm never forced out of bed. If I'm feeling a bit sort of tired, I'm never forced out of bed or anything like that you know. 

And that's another thing with the Marie Curie, when... In the Marie Curie it's not like a hospital, it's more of a 'oh just do what you want to do', you know you're just going to be... sort of just get up at 12 o'clock, have a wash, because obviously there's a lot of ill people in these places who haven't got long to go like, but the general atmosphere is just one of a very relaxed sort of nursing, yeah. Great.

He enjoys going to the hospice - there are always things to do such as gardening or joinery.

In what ways does the Marie Curie centre help improve your quality of life?

Well it gives you things to do. I mean you could tend to just half the time just be lazy, just lay about the whole day like, doing nothing like you know, but going to the Marie Curie, they've always got something for you to do. 

They've got extensive gardens. If you're a bit of a gardener you can do gardening. If you're a bit of a joiner, they have you making the seed boxes and there's various things for the women'

Says that state benefits are generous and have enabled him to buy a new car.

I've no problems at all really. Financially, I think for being in the state I'm in I think it's pretty generous and I find it's we don't have problems at all like you know. No problems financially like you know.

Can you tell me what sort of benefits people are entitled to?

Well the benefits mainly are the Disability Allowance. You have the Mobility Allowances you know, if you're a driver you know, which is a great thing like you know, a great thing and then you have your general sort of allowances like... I can't recall them now like.  I get about two allowances. They're more than adequate that's all I can say like for our way of living you know. I mean to say we're not extravagant by any stretch of the imagination like. It's afforded us a new car which I needed. That's pretty good.