breast lump found but no appointment till 8th July

[MissV]

Hi, this is my first real post but have lurked for a good while now.
Whilst washing in the shower on Wednesday night i found a largeish lump in my boob. I made an appointment at my GP's the following day and he checked it out - finding the lump straight away without prompting. He, amongst other things, asked if there was a family history of Breast Cancer and i said no, this isnt strictly true as im adopted so dont know this info but i didnt think about it till later that i had answered wrong.
As there was a problem with the internet connection the GP posted out a letter for the NHS Choose and Book service which i have now sorted and the next available appointment is the 8th July!
Im not sure i can cope with the stress i am feeling for all this time and i'm wondering has anyone had any similar experiences who can put me at ease. Do you think if i tell the GP that i am not aware of my family history that this will change anything?

[trouble18524]

thats a bit too long, people i know have been seen within a wk.

Call surgery and make them aware you dont know your family backgrounf, also tell them how long you are having to wait to see if they can push for earlier appointment.

Good luck.

Hope all goes well for you and it turns out to be nothing.

[MissV]

was worried no one was gonna reply!

Thanks - I'm gonna drive myself insane if i have to wait that long!

Will ring surgery tomorrow.

[trouble18524]

Been out all day and just got back or i would have been on earlier.
Hope someone else can come along here too to support you, I've never been thru it personally.

Great about ringing surgery tomorrow. the right thing to do.

let us know how you get on.

Good Luck

[MissV]

thanks trouble!

appreciate it!
x

[girlnextdoor]

I THOUGHT they had to see patients with your sort of problem within 2 weeks? Have you got a specialist breast clinic attached to your hospital? if so, ring them. Alternatively, can you ask for a private appt if you have to wait almost 4 weeks- privately you might get seen in a few days.

[Weegiemum]

Hi there,

My dh is a GP and ia appalled by this.

You should be fast tracked. It is dangerous unless prove otherwise. In Strathclyde you would be seen in the breast clinic within a week.

He says you should go back to GP and say this is far toooo long, You need seen sooner and you should be. You need to ask for an urgent telephone appointment - you cant rely on choose and book in these situations!

All willl proboble be OK, btu you cant risk it. Make another appt with GP asap and ask for a telephone referral within a week to the breast clinic!

Thinking of you!

weegie
x

[kd73]

Agree with weegiemum, you should be getting seen sooner.

Government targets say you should be seen by a specialist breast clinic within 2 weeks of a gp referral. Perhaps you need to remind your GP of this...

[Winetimeisfinetime]

Hi MissV - definitely phone the drs tomorrow as a month is too long to be left fretting over this.

I found two breast lumps several years ago and so know how worried it makes you feel. Mine turned out to be benign cysts which were aspirated but they also found I had another type of benign lump called a fibroadenoma { breast mouse } which I subsequently had removed.

Most breast lumps are benign { 80+% I think} so the sinister ones are by far in the minority. But I know it is hard to be comforted by that until you have had your mind put at rest that yours is benign too so I hope you get sorted with an earler appt.
Let us know how it goes.
xx

[queenrollo]

i went to my gp about a lump (which had disappeared the next day) and my appointment came through for the end of June, which surprised me as i was told it would be the week after my GP appt. I can't go to it as it is while i am on holiday so i'm now faced with having to re-arrange it........i hadn't realised what the government targets were. Am a bit about it now.

[MissV]

Thanks for your relpies.

Weegie - I was so shocked when they gave me the date. The rational side of me thinks that is is more likely to be nothing than something but then the other side is scared and the more i think about it convince myself that it is cancerous. I also did the worst thing and looked up info on the web and all the 'bad' symptoms (IYKWIM) match me.
I am wondering if i had answered the GP's question diffrently i may have a quicker appointment.

[NorthernLurker]

you will only be fast tracked if your GP 'suspects' cancer. That would be based on clinical findings and other factors - including family history. You don't know yours so I would have thought your GP should treat you as if you do have a family history - definately ring up tomorrow and point this out to them.I work in hospital admin and can tell you that a months wait is very average for this sort of clinic. We sinply don't have the capacity to see everyone in 2 weeks and the clinicians have given good guidelines to the GPs to help them refer appropriately. I assume you are going to a one stop clinic? If so - don't be tempted to go private instead. Private gets you a consultaion with the doctor but still all the tests to have after that. The 1 stop gets you all the tests you need and an answer that day.

[queenrollo]

thankyou for clarifying that Northernlurker.........i have been referred because the GP said i have fibrodema (sp?) and so he couldn't find any obvious lumps but said he wanted me checked out properly to be sure. As such i suppose it's not considered urgent, but am still a little annoyed at being misled by the surgery about how soon my appt would be.

[NorthernLurker]

Queenrollo - it's very difficult for us on the other side of the fence when people ring up upset because their GP said they wuld have an appointment in days and its weeks instead. I wish they wouldn't do that! On a human level, we sympathise hugely, on a clinic management level - we just have to get people seen as soon as we can in line with the information given by the GPs and the interpretation placed on that info by the consultants. The good news is that because of the target to get everybody treated within 18 weeks we are really motoring in terms of getting people into clinic as quickly as possible so that there's plenty of time on the clock to get ops done if you need them

[MissV]

Northernlurker, thanks for the insider info!
Will ring GP's tomorrow and explain my mistake. Feel silly than i didnt think to say but my head was in a spin.
The GP didnt indicate to me if he thought it was serious or not, when i asked if i should be worried he said i needed a more thorough check at a breast clinic.

[NorthernLurker]

Yes don't be unduly worried by being referred - that's what should happen. GPs are not breast specialists and the 1 stop clinics are really good. It can be quite a long appointment so make sure you've got a baysitter etc sorted.

[MissV]

Lots of babysitters on standby!

[Sidge]

I had a breast lump, was referred to the Breast Clinic and was seen within 2 weeks (I think it was 8 days). That was long enough!!

As it turned out I had a galactocoele (a milk cyst) as I was breastfeeding. Very reassuring especially as it's appearance/history was consistent with a nasty.

I hope you get seen soon and all is well

[MissV]

Thanks sidge - glad you had a good outcome.

Winetime - did you just have day surgery for the removal of your lump? Also gald you too had a positive outcome.

[SubRosa]

MissV, sorry to be blunt, but could you possibly pay for a private consultation? You'd probably get an appointment within a week and could jump the queue, so to speak. Initial consultations usually cost around £100-150.

If you want any info on private hospitals, let me know and I'll post it on here.

Good luck, I'll keep my fingers crossed for you.

[wonderstuff]

I would really push for closer appt, it might not be cancer, but if it is the survival prospects are excellent but it needs to be picked up early. My friend had to make three visits to her gp before she was referred and this time delay really affected the eventual treatment and prospects for her.

[NorthernLurker]

Subrosa - I have mentioned the hitch with private appointments for this kind of thing. Yes - you get to see the specialist and he will give you his opinion based on examination and your history but he is not going to perform (depending on the lump) a mammogram, an ultrasound and/or a needle biopsy and get the results looked at whilst you wait then see you, together with a breastcare nurse, to discuss them for £150! That's what you get with an NHS 1 stop service and that's why it's better in this case than going private.

[NotABanana]

You really must try and get an earlier appointment. I would also tell them when you ring about not knowing your family history.

Good luck.

[girlnextdoor]

northernlurker- are you sure that doesn't depend on which consultant and which hospital you are seen at? and if they have the facilities?

I only ask out of curiosity. I was recently seen by a gynae at the Lister private hospital in Chelsea, London and on the same day I had several blood tests, a pelvic ultrasound and obviously an appt with the dr. None of this was pre-planned- it just rolled out after my appt with the dr, who gave me the forms to take round the various other depts in the hospital.

I am just asking out of curiosity and so everyone else knows the score- presume you work in the NHS?

[MissV]

quick update!

I have spoken to the receptionist at the surgery and told her about my silly mistake re family history. she has looked into my notes and says the GP thinks the lump is likely to be a cist due to my age (34) and thats why its not a 2 week referal (he never explained any of this to me!).
I explained that cause i was so anxious when i came i just thought of my (adoptive) family history.
She has made me an appointment with another doctor as the one i saw is now on holiday and thats tomorrow.
Feel a bit better that GP thiks its a cist but a bit he didnt tell me this whilst i was there.
Thanks for all your replies.
I would pay for the private consultation but as northernlurker says it wouldnt get me any answers.

[NorthernLurker]

girlnextdoor - the information I was giving did relate particularly to breast services and is based on my experience working in the NHS in my area. It's really good you got all those tests on the one day but I'm assuming you didn't also get all of the results? And that they charged you rather more than the basic consultation fee for them? The 1 stop service here has a radiologist available to look at the mammograms as soon as they are done and a full lab service processing the samples as they come in so that you get a same day service. Obviously this is an area of high anxiety and I can understand why people want to be treated quickly but i think it's really important to be clear that in this case private does not necessarily mean better or quicker. It will mean more expensive. My dh has worke on the lab med side and said that private charges for blood tests are nothing short of obscene compared to what the test actually costs. the only thing that's worse is private charges for chemotherapy
MissV - glad you've made a bit of progress.