Hi,

Welcome to Cancer Chat,

I am sorry to hear about your wife's diagnosis. I have used private health care in the past, but when I asked the same question of my GP, she advised NHS treatment for anything as serious as cancer. My Mum had breast cancer 20 years ago and I took her out of a private hospital, because her care was so poor. Sadly my Mum is no longer with us, but I myself have now developed breast cancer. I have had this for 7 years and developed a second primary breast cancer a year later.

In the last six years I could not have had better treatment. I have a plethora of other medical conditions which have also been well attended to. The NHS gets a lot of stick but I have no complaints. The other bonus is that you have direct access to other post-surgical support groups from the NHS, but this didn't happen from the private hospital.

This has to be the decision from both of you. It is not an easy one to call as, I suspect that some NHS hospitals may be overstretched and not operating as well as mine. Have a word with your wife's GP and see what advice s/he has to give.

Whatever you decide, I hope that you come to the right decision.

Please keep in touch and let us know what you decide. There is always someone to speak to here whenever you feel like talking.

Kind regards,

Jolamine xx