"Level 4 Nelune CCC - Haematology Oncology Day Centre (HODC)"

Early this year, I was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma, after attending the emergency department at POW with unrelated symptoms. From the beginning, I was treated with skill and compassion. Treatment involved six cycles of chemotherapy and targeted therapy at Level 4, NCCC- Haematology Oncology Day Centre (HODC).

I was so happy with my assigned haematologist. I think she is knowledgeable, able to clearly answer all my questions and zero in on my reasons for asking them. She answers directly in a way I can understand and provides written follow up with items discussed when needed. There were a few times when I emailed her between visits and her responses were prompt, which I so appreciated, knowing how busy she is.

Before treatment began, my spouse and I attended a PowerPoint presentation on the side effects of chemotherapy. We both found this session very confronting. I realise that we need to be aware of possible side effects, but I found that reading about them in the booklets produced by the Cancer Council was more informative and easier to come to terms with. I had very few of the side effects anyway.

Once treatment began, my experience of the HODC was overwhelmingly positive. I was impressed by the level of professionalism by the staff. I believe corners were never cut. I found it funny the number of times I was asked name and date of birth!

One suggestion I have is that in the list of standard questions that the nurses ask each visit e.g. 'How are your bowels?'  a couple of questions could be added about exercise, as I found that  when I did exercise, it helped (as per the Cancer Council booklet). There were a few times when side effects made exercise difficult and in retrospect, it would have been good to discuss this. I also didn't realise until near the end of chemotherapy that I had gained a couple of kilos. It would have been good to discuss this with the nurses also.

I appreciate very much that nurses were generally prompt at meeting me at my appointment time. There were a couple of times when my assigned nurse arrived late (I'm sure, unavoidably). I want to feed back to the nursing staff that waiting is stressful.

To all the staff on Level 4, I hope they know how much they helped me with their professionalism, care and humanity. The human touch amid all the meds and machines was such a comfort.