Mum with terminal cancer slams scan results delay

After being in remission for 10 years, Nicola Cannon was told her cancer was incurable in 2022

A former Royal Air Force (RAF) servicewoman with terminal cancer has slammed “unacceptable” hospital waiting times after a three-month delay for her scan results.

Nicola Cannon has said she fears for the treatment of her stage 4 secondary breast cancer, which relies on regular scans at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital to track the progress of the disease.

Last week's damning review of the NHS found that waiting lists were “ballooning”, with cancer care lagging behind that of other countries.

The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust said it was "very sorry that patients are waiting longer for their scans”.

Ms Cannon served in the RAF for 20 years

She told BBC Radio Shropshire: “Obviously, they [the doctors] are working with one hand tied behind their back, because the scans are so out-of-date by the time they actually get the results.

“If there was an urgent need to change that line of treatment – it could’ve been changed two months ago, three months ago if the scans could get read earlier.

“It could potentially impact people's lives, women’s lives.”

The mother-of-one from Shropshire, who served in RAF for nearly 20 years, was first diagnosed with cancer in 2012.

After being in remission for a decade, she was told her cancer had returned in 2022 – and that while it was treatable, it was not curable.

Ms Cannon's treatment depends on regular scans but she fears her treatment is not keeping up with the cancer

The hospital has already faced criticism for waiting times. A recent undercover documentary showed patients waiting for up to 46 hours in its emergency department.

In England, NHS targets dictate that people who have cancer should begin their treatment within 62 days of an urgent referral.

Ms Cannon has described the anxious wait for her scan results as all-consuming.

“Potentially in a year, you could be spending at least 33 weeks with 'scan-xiety', worrying about your results,” she said.

“If you’re trying to live your life and enjoy what time you have left, that’s not acceptable, you know, it’s extremely difficult for people going through cancer.

The Trust which runs the hospital says it is reporting around 850 scans per week

“It’s hard enough as it is, without having to wait such a long time for any information.”

Shropshire’s Lingen Davies charity helps to support people during and after their treatment.

Tim Cooper, the charity’s vice-chair, said waiting for results can have a “big psychological effect” on patients.

He said: “People say ‘it’s not the 31 days waiting for treatment, it’s the 30 nights in between living with that cancer diagnosis, on my own, in a dark room.’

“The more we can do to speed that up for patients, the more we can help with their psychological wellbeing, the faster we can provide diagnostic treatments, the better.”

Last week, a wide-ranging review into the NHS reported that breast cancer survival rates in the UK lag behind those of Ireland and the United States.

The Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said people “have the right to be angry” and that the NHS needed to “reform or die”.

In a statement, the Trust which runs the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital and Princess Royal in Telford, said it was “unable to comment on individual cases,” but it was reporting about 850 scans per week.

It added that staff were “doing everything possible to reduce waiting times and are training and recruiting additional staff to reduce delays.”