I made 200 calls to see a GP about my troubling symptoms – I’ve now been diagnosed with cancer after switching surgery
- Jolene Segrave, from Bradford, was diagnosed with stage 4 Hodgkin lymphoma
- She claims she tried to call The Ridge Medical Practice 200 times to no avail
- It wasn’t until five months after her symptoms began that she was diagnosed
A mother who made 200 calls to her GP for an appointment has told of her shock cancer diagnosis — which she only received by swapping surgery.
Jolene Segrave said she spent roughly two months trying to get seen at The Ridge Medical Centre, Bradford.
The 32-year-old first developed troublesome symptoms in October, complaining of extreme tiredness and itchiness all over her body before losing weight and suffering night sweats.
After a night of drinking alcohol that same month, the mother-of-three felt pain in her shoulder and arm and thought she was having a heart attack.
She was eventually diagnosed with stage 4 Hodgkin lymphoma in February.
Ms Segrave only found out she had the aggressive form of blood cancer when she decided to move her whole family to another GP practice, who then referred her to specialists.
Jolene Segrave said she spent roughly two months trying to get seen at The Ridge Medical Centre
It wasn’t until February that Ms Segrave was diagnosed with stage 4 Hodgkin lymphoma, after trying ‘hundreds of times’ to see a local doctor
The mother-of-three first developed symptoms in October of extreme tiredness and itchiness all over her body, then started to lose weight and experience night sweats
She said: ‘I called 200 times to get through.
‘[On one] particular call, when I finally managed to get through, they cut me off before I even entered the queuing system.
‘I moved my entire family out of there [The Ridge Medical Centre].’
Ms Segrave, who has children aged ten, five and one, added: ‘I thought I was going to have a heart attack. It is not something you expect to get when you are 32.
‘I would tell people that if you have any lumps make sure they are checked out straight away.
READ MORE: Doctors told me I was just stressed but actually I’ve got stage-four cancer – and I only found out after collapsing in a supermarket
‘You might even have to change your GP like I did.’
Ms Segrave said she began to feel very unwell roughly six months ago, with a worrying array of symptoms.
But she claims screen grabs from her phone prove she made hundreds of unsuccessful calls to her surgery and once spent over 53 minutes on hold only to be cut off.
In December, she registered her family with Bradford Student Health Services, where she was given an appointment and medics found two lumps on her neck.
She was then referred via the Two Week Wait scheme — which requests an urgent appointment with a specialist for people with symptoms that might indicate cancer.
Ms Segrave was seen by a specialist at the Bradford Royal Infirmary and then sent for an ultrasound-guided biopsy.
In February, Ms Segrave received the devastating news that she had Hodgkin lymphoma, a rare cancer that develops in the lymphatic system.
Hodgkin’s lymphoma starts in the white blood cells.
It is named after Thomas Hodgkin, an English doctor who first identified the disease in 1832.
It affects around 2,000 people each year in the UK, and 8,500 a year in the US.
Ms Segrave has since started chemotherapy for the disease – which was found in her neck, armpit, abdomen and bones – and has shaved off all her hair after it fell out following a nap.
She said: ‘This type of cancer is very aggressive. There are six cycles of escalation. I am okay but the chemotherapy does make you quite tired.
Ms Segrave said she took her whole family out of The Ridge Medical Practice (pictured) and to a different GP surgery
Ms Segrave has since started chemotherapy for the disease – which was found in her neck, armpit, abdomen and bones – and has shaved off all her hair after it fell out following a nap
‘One day I fell asleep on the sofa and woke up with hair all over the cushions. I knew then it was time to cut it all off. I wanted to take control.’
A spokesperson from The Ridge Medical Practice wished Ms Segrave the best for her treatment but refused to confirm if she was a previous patient with them.
They told the Telegraph and Argus: ‘We are very sorry to hear that this lady has a diagnosis of Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, that must be very upsetting for her and her family, and we hope that her treatment goes well and has positive outcomes for her.
‘As we respect and take very seriously our obligations around confidentiality and information governance, we can neither confirm nor deny whether this lady has ever been on our patient list and we cannot respond specifically to the issues raised to us in this story.
‘We always encourage patients to let us know as soon as they are experiencing any problems with our services as most of the time we can help them straight away and advise about ways of getting the best from our practice every time they need us.
‘Our complaints procedures are clearly displayed on our website and in our surgeries and include advice about getting help in being supported by an advocacy team to ensure that patients have equitable access to giving us feedback about our Practice.
‘We constantly keep access to our services under review and strive to find ways of improving this.’
MailOnline has approached The Ridge for comment.
What is lymphoma?
Lymphoma is a cancer of the lymph nodes, which is the body’s disease-fighting network.
That network consists of the spleen, bone marrow, lymph nodes and thymus gland.
There are various types of lymphoma, but two main ones: non-Hodgkin and Hodgkin.
Both have much better prognoses than many types of cancer.
WHAT IS HODGKIN LYMPHOMA?
Hodgkin lymphoma is a type of cancer that starts in the white blood cells. It is named after Thomas Hodgkin, an English doctor who first identified the disease in 1832.
It affects around 2,000 people each year in the UK, and 8,500 a year in the US.
Hodgkin lymphoma is most common between the ages of 20 and 24, and 75 and 79.
Five-year survival rates:
The survival rates are much more favourable than most other cancers.
- Stage 1: 90%
- Stage 2: 90%
- Stage 3: 80%
- Stage 4: 65%
Symptoms include:
- A painless swelling in the armpits, neck and groin
- Heavy night sweating
- Extreme weight loss
- Itching
- Shortness of breath
- Coughing
Risk factors:
- Lowered immunity
- A family history of the condition
- Smokers
- Those who are overweight
Treatment:
- Chemotherapy
- Radiotherapy
- Steroids
- Stem cell or bone marrow transplants
WHAT IS NON-HODGKIN LYMPHOMA?
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma can occur anywhere in the body but is usually first noticed in the lymph nodes around sufferers’ necks.
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma affects around 14,000 new people every year in the UK. In the US, more than 80,000 people are diagnosed annually.
It is more common in males than females, and it is commonly diagnosed either in a patient’s early 20s or after the age of 55.
Five-year survival rates:
Survival can vary widely with NHL.
The general survival rate for five years is 70 percent, and the chance of living 10 years is approximately 60 percent.
Symptoms include:
- Painless swellings in the neck, armpit or groin
- Heavy night sweating
- Unexplained weight loss of more than one-tenth of a person’s body
- Itching
Risk factors:
- Over 75
- Have a weak immune system
- Suffer from coeliac disease
- Have a family history of the condition
- Have had other types of cancer
Treatment:
It depends on the number and locations of the body affected by Non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
Therapy typically includes chemotherapy.
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