Feeling good about my partner's inclusion

My experience of the Royal Marsden in Sutton, as an out-patient following a lobectomy for lung cancer at St George's has been positively positive!

At all stages, before and following my surgery: chemo sessions / regular post-treatment checks / now monitoring (scans and bloods) whilst on a longer-term suppressant drug, has been my male partner of 33 years been welcomed to support me whether by presence at diagnosis, surgery, initial chemo treatment / and, throughout, by sitting in on Consultant sessions or meeting with other members of the Team - being able to dialogue with the 'experts'.

It's all good news from me!

Being treated for cancer when you're LGBTQI+

I was treated for head and neck cancer back in 2020 (radiation and chemotheraoy), then again in 2021-2023 (immunotherapy) when my cancer had metastisized. I'm also gay and non-binary, with my partner my carer for the first bout of treatment in 2020. Overall, I/we had a great amount of acceptance, especially by the oncologists and radiotherapy team. I had more difficulty though with some of the nurses, and food-serving assistants. It was frequently assumed that I was married to a woman, even when my partner was present on the ward with me while I was having treatment. On one occasion…

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