CHRISTIE NHS Waiting times

[Flower2011]

Does anyone go to Christies Manchester for Chemo on the NHS and if so how long does it take for bloods then treatment etc, how long are you typically there for - I will be just having bloods then Avastin so wanted to know. Thanks for any advice on this

[Katmal-UK]

Hi Flower I go there and have bloods and then see the trials team but not for actual chemo. To be honest I think it's the same as going for chemo in any of the centres. The giving of the Avastin (from memory) isn't long but depending on how long it takes before the blood test results are back before they can administer the Avastin can be unknown. I tend to get to the hospital about 8.00 a.m. at the latest and usually have my test results back about and hour and a half later. From the results they will then have to prescribe the Avastin etc. In all seriousness I would allow for most of the day to be taken up. Best Wishes, Kathy xx

[Purple-iris]

Hi

I wasn’t at The Christie but I think the protocol is similar. ( at Guys London )

The first Avastin was given over an hour and half, next one over an hour and then reduced to 30 mins once they knew you didn’t react to it. My problem was it would sometimes take a couple of hours to get a line in my arm as my veins were rubbish ! I only needed bloods every 6 weeks as finished chemo and we were able to go in and have our bloods a couple of days before if local which helped. They checked urine for protein and blood pressure before every Avastin. My blood pressure was high a couple of times and needed to wait to see if it came down.

So a 30 minute infusion could sometimes take most of the morning or day if they were running over time and my veins weren’t cooperating.

Best wishes for your treatment and as Kathy suggests assume it’s going to take most of the day, hope it goes smoothly

Love Kim x

[LittleSan]

For Avastin I used to be there for about 5+ hours but then I switched to one of the chemo outreach centres. I had bloods locally on a Thursday, a nurse would ring me up once the results were in and get my home BP reading, then I would have treatment in the outreach with no waiting on the Monday. It was really efficient and more relaxed as they only had 3 chairs. I'm back on chemo now and it's as busy as usual in the main department.

💐😘🐝

[BeeWild]

Hi I go to the Christie and am currently on chemo I generally take about 3 hours for my bloods and nurse assessment and 8 hours the day after for my chemo allowing for delays etc but I have been there for 12+ hours on a particularly bad day. I always think if I needed the time and intervention I would be grateful so I tend not to fret about how long my appointments are. I’ve seen people have anaphalaxisis on the chemo unit and the response is immense but obviously ties up a lot of staff so others get delayed.

There’s cafes and the Maggie’s centre to pass time in and if you ask reception they will take your mobile and ring you so you can go wandering if you get bored xx

Good luck with your treatment

Bev xx

[Flower2011]

Thank you, I didn’t realise you could leave the waiting area.

[Cropcrop]

I go to Christies, as a general rule they say an hour between bloods and clinic, however this can change dramatically depending on the time of day and, of course, if they have to give bad news they allow much longer to that patient than usual. My last appointment had a 2.5 hour delay on appt times. I’d allocate the full day for your visit. Good luck, I’m back there in August. ❤️Xx Jane