Mary Dean, Christie patient

Mary first went to her doctor with shortness of breath in January 2021. Her doctor thought it was probably just an infection but sent her for blood tests and a chest X-ray. The blood tests came back clear, but the X-ray showed there was a shadow on her lung.

After a CT scan, Mary found out that she had lung cancer in April 2021. As she'd thought her problems were just down to an infection, she was completely shocked by the diagnosis.

Mary was then referred to The Christie for treatment for the lung cancer. She had 4 cycles of chemotherapy before going onto radiotherapy and a clinical trial.

Throughout the whole of her treatment, Mary filled in MyChristie-MyHealth questionnaires. This meant she could update her clinicians on her health and wellbeing between consultations.

“I did the questionnaire from the very beginning of my treatment. It’s great to know the doctors see them before your appointment, so they know what’s going on at that very moment. It’s also good if you don’t want to talk about something face-to-face. And if I mentioned something about my symptoms that needed a follow-up, The Christie would get straight back to me to arrange an appointment. It makes you feel like someone is always on your side.”
Mary Dean, Christie patient

Mary says she really liked receiving the surveys and that they helped her feel that the doctors and nurses always knew all about her care when she came to appointments. She said MyChristie-MyHealth questionnaires gave her a summary of what she’d reported, which was helpful to look back on.

Now, Mary says she feels really good and sometimes forgets how ill she’s been. Living with her partner Paul and working as a support worker in a school, Mary now just visits The Christie ever 3 months for a check-up.

Mary says the thing she’s looking forward to the most is being able to make memories – have days out with her family and spend time with her grandchildren. She says she now feels like she has time to do the things she wants.

MyChristie-MyHealth is helping to improve patients’ wellbeing and symptom management. See how a gift from you today to our Answers to Cancer appeal could help us keeping transforming cancer care.