A year ago, 60-year-old Kevin Everett consulted his doctor about his breathing trouble and sinus problems. His doctors diagnosed him with asthma, bronchitis, and sleep apnea. Everett was given various antibiotics, steroids, and even a machine to help him breathe while he slept at night.
But Everett’s condition persisted and didn’t respond to any of the treatments. After a year of suffering through these ineffective treatments, Everett decided to Google search all of his symptoms for himself.
It took him only 15 minutes to discover that he had cancer - nasopharyngeal cancer, that starts at the top of a person’s throat, just behind the nose.
Everett now, thankfully, is on the road to receiving proper treatment. He has plans to start radiotherapy in the near future and has since complained to the Care Quality Commission about the effectiveness of his general practitioners.
“I have no faith in GPs anymore,” Everett said, “if it took me 15 minutes to look at NHS Choices, why couldn’t they, as trained GPs, find out what was wrong with me?”
After Everett personally discovered that his symptoms were a condition of nasopharyngeal cancer, he requested to be referred to the Ear Nose and Throat department at Castle Hill Hospital in Cottingham. There, his new doctor put a camera up his nose and determined quickly that Everett had “tissue growing in [his] post-nasal cavity.”
A biopsy confirmed that the growth was a malignant tumor, leading Everett to begin undergoing chemotherapy treatment.
Although Everett had to undergo several sessions of chemotherapy, the results were positive, and he is hopeful as he moves forward to continue radiotherapy. He says, “I received fantastic care at Castle Hill,” and feels much more confident in his current providers than his last.
Everett’s original provider, City Health Care Partnership CIC (CHCP), says they will investigate Everett’s complaint about his GP, reassuring the public that they aim to address all of their customers’ concerns.
