I HAD to visit the James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough last week where I was diagnosed with cancer.

The place is a nightmare. Thirty-five minutes to find a parking space, then I had to pay £3 for the privilege.

I was given no options for treatment to remove the cancer but was only told I would be sent an appointment to see an oncologist at some stage.

This an example of cancer patients being treated with disdain. If you had any other medical emergency, you would be treated straight away. Cancer is just as important as any other medical problem.

One gets the feeling that they want you to go away and die before they have to spend any money on you.

This hospital has grown too big for the site and does not appear to be there for the benefit of the patient. It is far more interested in money than the wellbeing of the patient.

Why has it been allowed to starve other hospitals of resources, meaning that most of its patients have to travel a long way just to get there?

Phillip Williams, Dishforth, Thirsk