Founder of METUP-UK Jo Taylor appeared on ITV This Morning, discussing ‘end of treatment bells’. Jo has written a piece for the British Medical Journal on this, which gives more insight than the quick media piece:
Many patients who have been newly diagnosed with breast cancer and undergoing potentially curative treatment have no idea that overtly celebrating the end of their treatment in this way is so profoundly upsetting for other fellow patients. Modern science has helped many of us to live longer, but in the case of breast cancer there is a risk of recurrence. We know that of those early stage primary patients approximately 30% will “at some point” develop secondary breast cancer and that risk can be up to 20 years for some types of breast cancer.
There are different perspectives on this, with many agreeing that at the very least bells should be moved out of hearing of cancer wards.
What’s your feeling on ‘end of treatment’ bells?