<a href="http://pigyard.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/NHS-cartoon.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-2149" src="http://pigyard.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/NHS-cartoon-300x200.jpg" alt="NHS-cartoon" width="300" height="200" /></a>The past week has seen us visit the hospital on three occasions with varying levels of satisfaction. This cartoon depicts the situation very well.

On Tuesday Jane had an echocardiogram when we were in and out within an hour, the nurse was very professional and the good news is that Jane's heart has not been affected by the chemotherapy.

On Thursday it was a CT or CAT scan. For this Jane has to drink a litre of water one hour before the appointment time and within minutes of checking in she is asked to drink another two cups and half an hour later another two cups. Nobody explains why which I think only scores 3 out of 10 for patient involvement. Jane eventually goes in but before the scan they need to inject iodine into her blood. A student nurse has two attempts but fails to insert the cannula and then the "experienced" nurse has a go but fails. Let's be clear Jane has veins that are very obvious and stand out even after all these weeks of chemo. Jane explains that without the iodine the scan is a waste of time, but hey, it's not their time or money they're wasting!

Today (Friday) we saw the oncologist who was spitting feathers because of what had happened at the CAT scan and she called them incompetent and then swore in Italian, or at least we think she swore because she said it in hushed tones and with great vehemence - she was going to have words! Any way, she examines Jane and says she's making good progress, the chemo is working but Jane needs an ultrasound to make sure her liver hasn't been affected (this would normally show up if the iodine had been injected before the CAT scan). Jane had her bloods taken before we left the hospital and the nurse in haematology had no problem with Jane's veins - what does that tell us?

A good news day, or at least no bad news and Jane has her next day of chemotherapy on Monday.