Bulk-bill solution the best therapy for Perth radiation treatment patients
Receiving a cancer diagnosis is a life-changing event for patients and their loved ones. The last thing you need is extra worry about the financial burden you might face. For many of those for whom radiation therapy is a viable treatment option, that is unfortunately the case. Even worse, not all Perth patients are alike. While patients in some parts of Perth can receive treatment without out-of-pocket costs, many are not so fortunate. Read the harrowing story of Thomas and you can see just how negative the effects of being forced through financial constraints to travel long distances for radiation therapy can be.
Diagnosed with throat cancer, I needed seven weeks of daily radiation and weekly chemotherapy at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital. An abusive childhood, multiple traumas, much hardship throughout my life – yet travelling to and from Charlie’s was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do.
My comorbid childhood and complex PTSD and severe type 2 narcolepsy are triggered when travelling by bus or train. I find myself, as narcoleptics do, dreaming whilst awake – my dreams PTSD-fuelled nightmares.
Fighting to stay awake, previous torments and traumas inflicted upon me in the past flashing before my eyes, my fellow travellers’ faces becoming the faces of my abusers – public transport is literally a nightmare.
So I rode my e-bike a 70km round trip to and from Charlie’s. I managed this for three weeks. Week four I began riding to Midland and catching the train to Shenton Park. This reduced the journey to 18km a day of bike riding but also contributed to a deterioration in my mental health. A further challenge – you can’t take a bike on Transperth trains during peak times. So I found myself riding 35km anyway, depending on the time of my treatments, including Monday evenings after four hours of chemotherapy.
“ Thousands of patients are having to undertake this long and arduous journey for their life-saving healthcare. I must ask, why are patients in Midland unable to receive their cancer treatment a reasonable distance from their homes?
Nauseated, fatigued, brain-fogged – a wreck – I remember crying in anguish riding through Maylands or Meltham contemplating how many more train stations I’d have to pass before getting to Midland. In week four, arriving home utterly exhausted, falling asleep in a chair whilst removing my shoes, I could no longer care for myself. Showering, cooking, basic tasks around the home became impossible. My physical and mental health in an ever downward spiral, my entire existence became travelling to and from Charlie’s.
Monday of week five it became impossible for me to ride the e-bike. I caught a bus, a train, and another bus to Charlie’s. I had a mental breakdown in the radiation clinic waiting room. A cancer centre nurse noticed and she advocated for me to get taxi vouchers. I didn’t qualify due to my age, but the radiation oncology unit manager arranged taxi vouchers for me for the following four days to see me through until the Walter and Eliza Hall Trust began paying for St John Transport. That only started on the Friday of week five.
By week six I was no longer able to eat – radiation significantly damages your mouth and throat – malnourished, having lost 14kg, a nasogastric feeding tube installed, type 1 diabetes control in a dreadful state, mental health really not in a good place, I was admitted as an inpatient. After four weeks in Charlie’s I caught COVID-19 and was in an isolation room for Christmas, my birthday and New Year.
Thousands of patients are having to undertake this long and arduous journey for their life-saving healthcare. I must ask, why are patients in Midland unable to receive their cancer treatment a reasonable distance from their homes?
Thomas – Cancer Patient, Midland