Meant to say- and this might be useful for some myeloma folks- I have had contact with my local Marie Curie Hospice. About a year ago, my transplant nurse suggested she get the Marie Curie team to contact me. I have to confess I wondered what was happening- are they not telling me something!! Became even more paranoid when in the same week my GP also contacted me and suggested I do that. Its clear that in the future I will/may have to call on the hospice for help and may have to spend time there. However, the suggestion from my nurse and GP wasn't the result of some background conspiracy but a new approach to putting possible hospice patients in touch with Marie Cure workers earlier than in the past. This means there is face to face contact/relationship build up before it becomes a critical/emergency issue.
In my case, Elspeth and I ( importantly- its a service for the family and not just me)were visited by Barbara from the local hospice. To cut a long story short we learned about the hospice, what it might offer me later but also what it could offer me and our family just now- alternative therapies/treatments/respite etc. Barabara also encouraged me ( with great foresight I have to say given current problems with my left side) to go for disability allowance/blue badge/bus pass etc. And by putting the Marie Curie stamp on my applications I had all these in hand within a couple of weeks and have also taken it further to have an automatic motability car made available to me( what a great service motability provides). I also of course now have a contact at Marie Curie and we keep in touch but not just for emergencies- so its proven very very useful and I hope other regions offer such a community based Marie Curie service. I have to keep repeating that I have been really impressed by the quality of care and joined up service provision my wife and I have experienced in Edinburgh.
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