Hi Tara and Colin Just a quick note about centerlink. Get your GP to sign a centerlink sickness certificate, he should have them in his surgery, mine does. Ask to see centerlink’s welfare worker, you will have to do it in person, online or ringing takes weeks. There is also more than one benefit you can get. The Cancer Council can also help with financial problems. I hope I'm not telling you how to suck eggs. Been there done that unfortunately. Best of luck for the future. Garry ... View more

Hi Nermal Your feeling adrift comment grabbed my attention and motivated me to join the group. I won't bore you with the details of my journey its all on my profile. But I am writing a book about it. The following is an excerpt from it that was motivated by my specialist being unclear. "The point I am making here is that with all cancer time is of the essence. It is also a highly emotive issue. Doctors try to let you down gently before they give you the final diagnosis. So they often use terms that are unclear (an anomaly, a shadow) that can lead you to think it is not as serious as it is. Your life is draining away and yet arranging the prompt treatment you need is left to the people you ring to make appointments, who are unaware of your possible condition. Many of whom are pompous upstarts who feel they have a God given right to run your life for you. Fortunately for me my GP has moved practices and the Kidney specialist changed his office manager. So this is no longer a problem. But had I understood at the time how serious this was I would have treated it with the urgency it required" In the incident I am referring to here had my GP not taken matters in hand himself the kidney specialist would have cost me my life. I don't want to be a scaremonger but as a survivor I want to share the following points with you. 1) time is of the essence, I believe the specialist could have booked the radiation appointment for your husband without referring back to your GP. 2) don't wait for your GP to receive the letter, ring him now and push the issue. Don't wait for appointments or allow receptionists to fob you off. This matter is urgent and you need to let everyone that you deal with know that that is the case. 3) you sound as if you may be in the private medical system again as a survivor my advice to you is to get into the public system as soon as possible. Ensure that all procedures are carried out in the largest hospital you can find. 4) your specialist's attitude would lead me to seek a second opinion. However you need to be aware that all the specialists in your area hold regular meetings and consult with each other. Therefore if you are going to seek a second opinion it is often better to go out of the region. This suggestion was originally made to me by the Cancer Council before I understood that all the specialists in the area were consulting with each other. But it still great advice. I hope that you haven't found what I have written is frightening or disconcerting that was not my intention. I understand completely the lost adrift feeling and part of my reason for writing a book is to help others to see their way through the maze. Remember that no one will understand the urgency of your case better than yourself. Therefore it is your responsibility to make it clear to everyone that you deal with how important and urgent your case is. I hope you have found this helpful. Best of luck for the future. Be assured that the vast majority of people that you deal with are professional and expert. You just need to weed out the odd exception to the rule. Garry ... View more