What
if you had cancer --- in Australia?
Haroon
does. If you have been following our
page for a long time, you might remember Haroon. He was one of our first posts. Back then, we were just getting our page
going - posting photos with a few sentences.
We'd
like to tell you a bit more about Haroon, and who better to tell you than
Haroon himself?! This post is the kick
off to our 'Guest Blogger' series. From
time to time we will have Guest Bloggers who will, in their own words, give you
their run down on a situation.
Most
of our readers are in Canada but we have noted we also have regular readers
from across the globe. If you or a loved
one has received, or is receiving cancer treatment, no doubt you have run
across circumstances where things have gotten mixed up. Mixed up appointment times, mixed messages
from your doctors/nurses on the status of your case, diagnostic technicians
giving you 'the look' that makes you paranoid... At those times you think, 'if only' I were in (insert the
country of your choice here), things would not get 'fouled up' as they do
'here'.
We
asked Haroon if he would prepare a few words on what cancer treatment has been
like for him in Australia. Here is what
he said:
"Australia's
Heath care system for cancer patients? Better than I thought, it turned out.
After
the initial shock of being diagnosed with cancer I got caught up in the
confusing whirlwind of seeing different specialists, getting various scans,
tests, being prodded & poked & had needles stuck in me. The needles
thing (FNA - Fine Needle Aspiration if anyone's interested) happened twice,
because the first time I was sent to the wrong specialist; she was more used to
dealing with pregnant mothers!
So my
wife and I soon got very frustrated with the whole thing, thinking it was all
the fault of the medical system for not getting their act together, explaining
what they were doing properly and seemingly leaving all the coordination to us.
I have since learned that this is the usual impression of most cancer patients
everywhere. When it come down to it, the doctors knew exactly what they were
doing, the medical profession moved very quickly and I got my vital operation
almost before I knew what was happening.
The
specialist who followed up on my case seemed very serious & promised to
watch me like a hawk for the next few years. In fact he has a sense of humour,
is quite approachable and finds time for our thousand and one questions
whenever we see him. I have met other patients and most of them seem to feel
they have received good care too. So, all in all, Australia's health care
system seems to work quite well."
This
gives perspective doesn't it? It seems
when you are in the thick of your diagnostics and your treatment plan is being
determined, there is so much uncertainty.
You become acutely aware of inefficiencies in the system and you get
cranky for being 'shoved around' like a nameless, faceless, entity. Sometimes you feel like no one cares and you
are one of the people who have 'fallen through a crack'. You don't fully appreciate that odds are,
there is actually a health care 'team' working on your case. No system is perfect. No health care team is perfect. Whether your health care system is universal
or 'pay as you go', no matter where in world you are, when you look back, you
will likely realize you had better care than you thought you did, but of utmost
importance is that you, or someone close to you, act as an advocate on your
behalf within the system. It helps to
smooth out the imperfections.
Thank
you Haroon!
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