Dad breaks down as surgery on aggressive cancer postponed ‘until pandemic eases’
A distraught dad broke down in tears as he recounted the moment his op to remove an aggressive tumour was postponed ‘until the pandemic eases’.
John Donaghy’s life fell apart over Christmas when a biopsy found stage 4 cancer in his tongue and mouth.
The building company boss was told an emergency operation was needed to cut away the tumour and help prevent further spread.
But due to surging coronavirus cases putting enormous strain on the NHS, his op at Birmingham’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital was cancelled twice.
Mr Donaghy has now been discharged home and told the op will be rescheduled when the pandemic ‘eases’.
His words slurred by his swollen mouth, Mr Donaghy said: ‘I am exhausted and really worried for the future. I don’t know what to think. I feel really low.
‘The surgical team tried their best to push for this operation but it is out of their hands. It has been the most frightening experience of my life and I am very scared.’
Mr Donaghy’s son Kieran, 25, said it has been a terrifying time.
‘We understand the pressure the NHS is facing but we are really worried for dad. He is really anxious and we are scared.
‘He has been discharged even though he is not well at all. We are not the only ones facing this, there must be others going through the same struggle. But this is stage 4 cancer, it is aggressive, it needs urgent treatment. We feel really hopeless.’
A spokesperson for University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust said their staff are having ‘incredibly difficult conversations’ with patients who’ve had surgery postponed
‘We can only apologise to those affected,’ they said. ‘These decisions are always taken in light of clinical advice and we offer alternative treatments whenever possible, as well as aim to rebook patients for surgery.’
In Mr Donaghy’s case, the alternative is a course of chemotherapy which medics hope will shrink the tumour until an operation can proceed.
The NHS trust also said that in cases where doctors decide surgery is urgent, the patient will be prioritised for any available theatre space across the West Midlands region.
The worrying situation comes as city hospitals face an unprecedented surge in coronavirus cases, with more than 1,000 inpatients across Queen Elizabeth, Heartlands and Good Hope hospitals, and more than 150 people in intensive care.
As a result, the hospitals trust has cancelled all elective operations at Queen Elizabeth and reduced the number of high priority operations to those deemed ‘time critical’.
But even more operations may have to be sacrificed as the peak in admissions locally is not expected to come for another week or two.
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