Caroline Boulton says there have been delays at every stage of her treatment for breast cancer.
A woman with fast-growing stage-four breast cancer says the NHS has let her down, with delays at every stage of her to treatment.
Caroline Boulton had several appointments for a mammogram, which checks for early signs of cancer, cancelled because of Covid, in March and November 2020.
In late 2021, she found a small lump, went to her GP and was referred urgently to a specialist – but then the delays began.
“They haven’t moved quickly enough,” Ms Boulton says. “It’s been really, really slow.”
“Between each appointment, each scan, there’s been four-, five-, six-, seven-, eight-week waiting times between each appointment and delays every time.
Growing quickly
The referral letter came through “very quickly” but then she waited three weeks, instead of the recommended two, to see a consultant.
“When I first found the lump, it was only pea-sized,” Ms Boulton says.
“By the time I got to see the consultant, it was the size of a tangerine.”
Her cancer was growing quickly, she was told, but it could be eight weeks before a mastectomy could be scheduled to remove her breast.
‘There’s nothing we can do’
“Considering it was fast-growing, that’s a huge concern – you’re living with that, waiting, knowing it’s growing,” Ms Boulton says.
“I’ve now got stage-four cancer that I shouldn’t have.”
When she finally saw an oncologist, had another scan and received the results, the cancer had spread to her liver – and there was no longer any treatment they could offer.
The oncologist told her she had 30 lesions on her liver and said: “There’s nothing – nothing we can do for you.”
Figures leaked to the Health Service Journal and seen by the BBC Two’s Newsnight programme show:
- 327,395 people are on England’s cancer waiting list
- nearly 40,000 have been waiting more than 62 days after a GP referral for suspected cancer
- the number waiting more than 104 days, has doubled since June 2021, to over 10,000
During the pandemic, cancer screening, treatment and operations were cancelled to free up staff and hospital beds, creating long waits for care and ausing patients huge anxiety.
The record numbers now coming forward with cancer symptoms is creating enormous demand, NHS England says.
It is spending billions of pounds on speeding up diagnoses and treatment.
Leading oncologist Prof Pat Price says: “This is the worst cancer crisis of my lifetime.
“The waits for cancer treatment are the worst they’ve ever been – and they’re getting worse.
“We have to get on and address this crisis. This is an absolute disaster.”
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