This is a follow on post from April / May 2018 – You Have Cancer go back and read that 1st

Coventry Warwick Coventry

If you have read my previous post you will know my dentist had told me I had Cancer and told me to go straight to Coventry Hospital UHCW (University Hospital Coventry & Warwickshire).

Arriving at Coventry convinced I had Cancer I was told not to just jump to conclusions and wait for results.

Having been seen by 4 or 5 different people I was eventually told there was nothing they could do there and referred to a head and Neck specialist at Warwick Hospital.

I got home and just told my wife I had seen someone about my wisdom tooth and would probably be having it out soon.

3 days later a letter came through the post with an appointment to see the head and neck specialist at Warwick Mrs Judith Stocker (I never did find out whether this was the original appointment my dentist had made or one someone from Coventry had made)

Unfortunately the appointment was 10 days away, this may seem like nothing, but when you’ve just been told you have Cancer this seemed ages away 🙁

During the 10 days I was waiting the lump on by gums was getting bigger. it wasn’t painful just made eating a bit tricky as I was still biting on it.

When I went to Warwick Hospital to see Mrs Stocker she looked in my mouth for just a few seconds, asked who I had already seen and appeared to be really cross that someone in her team at Coventry had sent me from there to Warwick and immediately referred me back to a consultant at Coventry Mr Gary Walton

I still wasn’t sure it was Cancer at this time, but Googled Mr Walton and saw his specialities; cancer head and neck, Facial trauma, Skin cancer 🙁

This time the appointment was only about 7 days later, I went to see Mr Walton, he had a good look and on the same visit I had a biopsy where they cut away half the growth to test it.

It may have been slow from the initial Dentist meeting to getting to see Mr Walton, but boy did things speed up once I had seen him, He made an appointment for the following week and I felt a lot happier now knowing I was in the right hands.

The following week I went to see Mr Walton, he sat me in his special chair and I must have had half his team around me, although he never said cancer and I never asked any questions he said I needed an operation and he was happy to do it.
(just him being prepared to do it was good news and a good sign).

Everything was immediately put in to motion, he arranged for me to go to Endoscopy to have a feeding tube fitted later that week, arranged for me to see the hospital dental specialist, introduced me to a McMillan nurse who in turn introduced be to the physio team, speech and language team and nutritionists.

Off course after this visit and knowing I was going to have a feeding tube fitted soon meant I couldn’t keep the pretence up with my family that it was just a wisdom tooth problem and I knew I was going to have to tell them I had Cancer.

My mother was doing the school run for me again as I wasn’t sure what time I was getting home from my appointment, but as I got home early I phoned her and arranged to meet in Shipston car park.

As soon as she saw me she knew, she had suspected my appointments were more than just a wisdom tooth, we hugged in the car park, I gave her brief news, told her I was having an operation but didn’t say a lot more.

She then went of to pick Tom up to take him home as I drove round to my father in laws house.

I wanted to tell him next as I wanted to take my daughter round there and tell her before telling my wife, I also phoned my sister in law and gave her the news, but told her not to say anything as I still hadn’t told my wife.

Later that afternoon I took my daughter round to her grandfathers, he went out the room to make tea and I had to stand there and tell my daughter I had Cancer.

Story continues here – Telling Your Family You Have Cancer

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