We talk to retired teacher Jane Jones of Llanarth, who has been under the care of the team at Bronglais Hospital’s Chemotherapy Day Unit for over a decade
My husband Ken and I were in Australia for the wedding of my younger son Rhodri, who lives out there, when I developed a cough.
Back home, I went to the GP to see if the cough was related to the medication I was taking
to improve my bone density. Tests revealed an abnormal protein in my blood and I was referred to the Haematology Department at Bronglais Hospital.
I was being monitored as the presence of such a protein can lead to cancer of the blood and this is what happened to me, with multiple myeloma being diagnosed in 2011.
The diagnosis came out of the blue. I wasn’t feeling ill at all.
I started treatment at the chemotherapy day unit soon after and I can’t praise the staff enough. They were wonderful then and they still are.
I can remember my first time on the unit. I was shown into a day room which was quite small, with the chairs for patients all close together.
Once a month, I would have a half-hour infusion of Zometa to help strengthen my bones and be given chemotherapy tablets to take at home for three weeks out of every four.
I remember going to the former unit a number of years ago and water was coming through the ceiling, so the patients had to be decanted to somewhere else in the hospital. There was a bit more room in our new home and that is where the day unit has remained to this day.
The staff are always very friendly. During treatment, I chat with some of the patients if they want to, otherwise I read a book. Staff are always willing to answer any questions you have, despite always being very busy.
I continued with chemotherapy treatment for around a year and then was recommended to have a stem cell transplant at Singleton Hospital in Swansea.
After the transplant, I was in remission for six years. There was no treatment, just check-ups every few months.
Then the protein levels started to rise again and I had to resume the treatment at the day unit.
This continued until early 2020 when COVID struck. Luckily, there was an improvement in my levels again and I was able to stop treatment for nearly two years. Now I have started on maintenance chemotherapy, which means I’m back on the unit but with smaller doses.
I am sure a new chemotherapy unit will make a lot of difference for many patients. At certain times in the current unit, when you are having treatment, people are walking through to get to other departments, which is a bit disconcerting.
A purpose-built unit will be wonderful for both patients and for staff.
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