Stepping into a New Season this Spring 2025

This year, I have been struggling to help a family member with Cancer. It had come as a shock; my emotions and my mind almost froze. Through the help of my GP team at Pembrook Surgery in Reading, I was supported as an individual, a wife, and also as a family in context, as during this time another family member was receiving treatment also at the Royal Berkshire Hospital for mobility, which also led to surgery. The surgery operation was very sucessful; however, due to the age of the person, the person encountered issues in the healing process.

A second surgical operation was therefore needed. Both close family members, one mother and one husband, meant my life was going in a spin. While patients are being treated, most people focus on the patient, and it's almost like the care is neglected or forgotten. I took the step to discuss some of my concerns with a counsellor and also the PALS at the hospital for the extra support, as the carer that was given to the patients was also part of the dilemma as to who and how we should act as a family in context to the NHS and other services provided.

On a visit to the dentist around this time, I realized that the stress had impacted my teeth and gums and I also needed treatment, which was unexpected just after the Pandemic to Covid, meanwhile the person who was having mobility issues had a full breakdown of the physcial syseem due to what was going onf for them, this of course impacted me with another family member being the main primary carer.

A scary and frustrating time for us all, now moving past all that in 2025, we have had some other positive news that the surgical treatment has been sucessful however excersise is needed for her. On the other hand, we are still waiting for a full recovery for one other family member, as they are still on treatment steroids every month as part of their treatment that had started and improved rather than havign a surgical removal of this particular cancer, radiotherapy was given instead for Prostate. It was also questioned if the other family member had a blood disorder, as was mentioned, as her health had gone right down, and surgery was given, and still then the recovery was very challenging to the point she never nearly made it through.

While we are grateful for all of the treatment and research, I am made aware that my cousin, who is also younger than I am, has been diagnosed with breast cancer; however, she is not in this country. Living in Europe in very poor condition. She has been impacted by her own health and the concerns. I am of the mindset that treatments and research and medicines and GP care continue, as well as the family carers, more support, and the taboo of illness, sickness, and diseases has to be broken in order to get the right help and support. Carers also need to be looked after not just given money such as caers allowance from the state to which is sometimes not enough to sustain them in their own delimas especially when they too are revocveritng from injury such as 2 broken bones, in a pot hole as I had also been imacted by this during all this time with no support other than passing the buck with one of the councils that was resposnible for the road at the time, stating that they do not have to sort the road out mean while they are sorry for my injury. A few weeks ago I go for walk the road has been done and esurfaced thankfully howver this has left me appallled as the case worker for the legal side of everytthing Law Together was not getting no where with the claim due to the reposnes of Reading bourgh Council even thou the medical evidance and the paperwork and the photos as well as the sizzes for the pothole went in...Spending 3 months at home in pain and revoery I was not all happy medically or mentally and it was the team at Pembrook and Minor Injury at the Royal
Berkshire Hospital had it all, and constant visits to try to walk with the pain in the rehabilitation process. 2025, now I am walking for the Mental Health Foundation and also the Cancer Research, just to keep fit and healthy, as I also get over the other traumas of what I personally went through, also during the time of both family members in treatment, one of which was in the Cancer Department. A whole new hospital for just cancer treatment sounds good. We live in Reading, Berkshire - Royal Berkshire Hospital