Urgent referral from GP?

[Userplus]

On Monday I had a routine smear test. While the nurse was ‘looking’ she noticed a rash on my vulva. She seemed concerned and said she wanted to get a female doctor to come in and have a look. While we were waiting I asked her what kind of rash and she said she had never seen anything like it blush.

The doctor came in and had a look and said to the nurse maybe it’s cysts. She asked me some questions and squeezed the area. There is no pain at all. I have felt these lumps but I am rather lumpy down there anyway ( I have had abscesses in pregnancy and during my period since I was a teenager - I just put it down to a surge in hormones). I can feel these lumps and they feel very fleshy and quite big but I believe I have had them for years - although maybe not as big - I just can’t remember of be sure. They are on the left side of my vulva and the flesh almost feels loose. I've had no pain, no discharge from the lumps or vaginally and no suspicious bleeding.

The doctor finished by saying that she was sending me to the gynecologist so that they can have a look.

Anyway as you can imagine I have massively built this up in my head and now I’m terrified I’ve got cancer. I’m trying to be rational and say to myself that they are only cysts and harmless but in reality I feel sick with worry and stressed that I can’t fine a rational explanation for them. I’m 38 and have got two young children.

Today I have received a text message from the surgery to say that my referral letter is ready to collect (I then have to make my own appointment online). Is this what is classed as an urgent referral? I'm so scared and just can't think straight. Can anyone offer any words of wisdom or advice?

I have no experience but understand that anything that could remotely be cancerous is given the 2 week rule. 99% of the time, it is not anything sinister but is given the 2 week treatment option to err on the side of caution.

I had mastititis (hospitalised due to level of infection) and they found a lump. Treated in the breast clinic under the 2 week rule. Nothing untowards.

Best wishes

Usually 95% of referrals are nothing.

Good luck

Did you have any tears / stitches after birth? Just thinking it could be swelling around scar tissue? Definitely best to get it checked out but it doesn’t sound like something that’s obviously malignant.

Thank you everyone. I think I am just quite a lumpy, cysty(!) person anyway. The nurse (although lovely) just really frightened me because she kept saying she had never seen anything like that before (I felt like the Elephant Man lying on the table). The doctor was more reassuring.

SinkGirl I had c sections in both pregnancies so no scar tissue around the vulva/labia area.

I'm surprised you have to make your own arrangements with the hospital. All the urgent 2 week referrals I've had have been out of my hands. The GP said she was referring me 'asap' and then I got a letter from the hospital telling me the date of my appointment. Or, in one case, the Gynae specialist at the hospital told me he was referring me to another department and then I got a letter from that dept.

Do you actually know it's an urgent referral? You may be on the end of a long waiting-list to get a routine referral to a Gyne specialist.

But I know it's difficult not to worry. Just try not to get ahead of yourself and imagine the worst. And stay away from Google!

Just seen your post on the waiting for tests etc thread. No one's ever asked my permission to refer me under the 2 week rule. No 'would you mind?' or 'if that's OK with you?'

None of my urgent referrals, for breast lump, ovarian tumour, raised levels in a cancer marker blood test, query pancreatic cancer, have resulted in a cancer diagnosis. (Touch wood!) I think it's more difficult to handle in your case because it was a routine smear and you weren't expecting another bit of you to need investigating. It's a good sign if they're not new lumps. Also if they're 'mobile', not attached to anything.

So fingers crossed!

Thank you Thymeout your post is very reassuring.

It was unprofessional of the nurse to say what she did. No wonder she alarmed you.

As pp have said the vast majority of 2ww/urgent referral don't show anything suspicious and your age is very much on your side.

I guess all surgeries are different, but I had to have an urgent referral done and the doctor filled out the forms there and then while I was sitting there. It was on the screen in front of me headed 'suspected cancer referral.' I did still then have to ring and make the appointment myself though.
As someone else has said, even if it is an urgent referral try not to panic as most of the time it turns out to be nothing to worry about. If you feel you are 'lumpy' anyway it could just be the way you are and they are being cautious. I hope it all turns out well!

keepingbees I see what you mean. I suppose the problem for me is that I was in the nurse's treatment room and she went out to get the doctor so I didn't get to see the doctor in her own office or how she wrote up the referral IYSWIM.

You are bound to worry. In my case the doctor printed it all off there and then and I had to ring the hospital asap for an appointment, he said they would be expecting my call. If it's the normal choose and book system online then it may not be an urgent referral. But even if it is, at least you will be seen promptly which is better than having it play on your mind for weeks, and in most cases it's just as a precaution.

Hi everyone, my MIL picked up the letter from the surgery today and as you all suspected it wasn’t an urgent referral. I made an appointment online and the earliest I could get was mid-December, so I’m definitely not an urgent case. I feel very relieved.

I was telling my mum this evening about how the nurse kept saying she had never seen anything like that before and my mum was very annoyed at her unprofessionalism. She wanted me to make a complaint to the surgery but I’m not going to do that. I think it was just a lapse in the nurse’s judgement.

Thank you all for listening, reading and sharing.

That's a relief for you. I hope whatever it is, is nothing and that you're ok!

That's good news. V pleased for you!

@Userplus we went through something similar recently in our house. DH was at the GP as a routine medical in work showed high blood pressure so he went to our own gp to get it checked. I don't know how it came up but like you DH often gets lumps and the GP made a big fuss about it. Dh had them checked years ago but the GP made an urgent referral and DH was seen within 10 working days. We got a fright as normally you have to wait months for an appointment to be seen in our local hospital so the speed of everything shocked us. Anyway everything is absolutely fine and he just seems to be a "lumpy" person.