Interview LC04

Age at interview: 72

Age at diagnosis: 69

Brief Outline: Diagnosed with small cell lung cancer in December 1999. Chemotherapy in December 1999 and January 2000, followed by radiotherapy to the head to prevent spread to the brain.

Background: Engineer (retired), married, 2 children.

Says that he made some bad decisions when the lung cancer was first diagnosed.

So have you ever asked about what might happen in the future?

Oh yes I've often asked that question "How long have I got, what's going to happen now etc?" but I don't get an answer for that one. They seem to skip that.

How do you feel about that?

Well, I'd like to know, to be honest - I'd like to know where my future lies. I know when I was told I had cancer in the first instance I made some very bad decisions with the things I had to do about the house etc, buying a car which finished up to be a pile of rubbish. You tended to dive in you know I've got this to do, that to do, the next thing and you would charge out.  It needs a period of reflection.

Describes his experience of having chemotherapy.

And during the day you said it was eleven hours you were having the chemotherapy?

Yes.

Can you just, so did you have to sit down all that time or what?

Well you had, you were on

The drip?

The drip and you could wheel it a bit after but it wasn't very handy so most of the time you were just sat in the wee ward.  But a lot of time I spent in the reception, I was in a ward, there was a reception room and I just sat in there.

Right did you have anyone to talk to during this time?

Not a lot, sometimes you were the only one and you sat there for 11 hours.

Oh dear.

And it was a bit of a drag the 11 hours.

Yes. What sort of relationship did you have with other people in there, could you talk at all?

Not a lot. Oh you could talk, yes, but there wasn't a lot of; people I think they were more concerned with what was going on with themselves, never mind somebody else.

So there wasn't much chat?

There wasn't a lot of chat, no.