Sylvia

Sylvia came to Pembridge after being diagnosed with Pancreatic cancer in 2018. This is her story.

I was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in May 2018. It came from nowhere.

I had palpitations and didn’t feel right all week, so I went to Charing Cross A&E. I was kept in and a couple of days later they found a mass.

We went into the junior doctor’s room and he got a chair for my daughter. I thought ‘that’s strange, why is he getting a chair for her’. Normally you just sit on the bed but he got a chair for her. He said ‘do you want to know the diagnosis for your biopsy?’

That’s when the junior doctor told me I had cancer and then the ball started rolling. I had quite a few stents put into my body so I was in and out of the hospital.

Jane (community nurse at Pembridge) came to visit me and was telling me all about hospice.

When she mentioned the hospice I was a bit dubious at first, because I’m thinking ‘hospice, that is the last place that you want to be’. Then my daughter said: “No, no. Go!  Because you can do things there and get to know people as well.”

When I come here I have a nice cup of coffee and talk to the kitchen staff and volunteers and then, Marco, the massage therapist comes and I have a nice massage, which I just had! (Laughs!)

The massage is lovely, absolutely lovely. Then it’s time for art. Bronwyn the art teacher shows me how to do different things that I haven’t done before. And there is keep fit, I used to do that sitting in the chair and keeping fit before I came so I know what exercise to do, it feels good. After that it is lunch time. And after that it’s Quiz Time with either Eva or Nigel… so there is plenty to do!

I like getting my nails done! Picking out the colours and having different colours each week, I really like to be pampered (laughs), Naima the nail art volunteer is very good.

Everyone is very helpful here; the nurses they talk to you every week, to see how you are getting on, if you are on the right pills or whether you need any help or anything like that, which is very good.

Last week I had an appointment with my consultant. I call my tumour a Zombie. My consultant told me the zombie is asleep and it hasn’t spread so that’s good news.  But she listened to my chest and said your crackling on your left lung down the bottom.

When I came here last Tuesday I mentioned it to Klaudia (Pembridge day hospice doctor) so she checked me out and said you’ve got it on both lungs so you need a course of anti-biotics. She phoned my doctor and got it all sorted out.

I like all of it, the staff and the volunteers, they make you feel welcome and if you’ve got a problem, you got someone to share it with. It’s very good; I would recommend it to anybody.

It’s a shocker, you hear hospice and you think that’s where you end up before you float away. Now I know it’s a place you can come and you don’t float away.

With your support today, people like Sylvia can continue to receive the best possible care from the Pembridge team to make the most of the time they have.

Mary O’Reilly

“I’m going to get a free massage, where do you get a free massage? I’m going to get a 3 course lunch, I’m going to get cups of tea. It’s just home from home for me. I love it, the more I come the more I love it.”

Mary O’Reilly

“I’m going to get a free massage, where do you get a free massage? I’m going to get a 3 course lunch, I’m going to get cups of tea. It’s just home from home for me. I love it, the more I come the more I love it.”

Mary O’Reilly

“I’m going to get a free massage, where do you get a free massage? I’m going to get a 3 course lunch, I’m going to get cups of tea. It’s just home from home for me. I love it, the more I come the more I love it.”

Art Teacher, Dr Bronwyn Platten

I love seeing the transformation that can take place in people through our art sessions when they are in pain, feeling lonely or just a bit down.