Diagnostic mammogram....please help me stop stressing!

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About 3 weeks ago I went to GP as found a lump in breast. An urgent referral was sent and was told appointments in my area are taking around 6 weeks and to chase up if heard nothing after the 6 weeks. Hated being in limbo but at least I had a rough time line. From speaking to others i was expecting a breast clinic appointment which could take a few hours as they try to do everything in one day.

I have been given an appointment for a mammogram this coming Thursday. I've been trying really hard to keep a lid on my anxiety but it keeps bubbling up. Can anyone advise why I've not been put on pathway I was expecting. Is it a good or bad sign?

My SIL is ging through the same and has been waiting at least 3 months for an appointment. She's just hers through now for muddle of month and she's to go to breast clinic.

Any advice would be appreciated. I've tried hogling but keep ging down various rabbit holes which isn't helping the stress.

Googling not hogling

No real advice but I have mine tomorrow and only had to wait a day (guess what I’m not in the UK) after finding one yesterday and seeing my GP today. I can’t imaging having to wait that long. Just sending you love and positive vibes. As I do for myself tomorrow.

Good luck!

I honestly would not try to overthink it. I think what you’re asking is why is it just a mammogram and not the one stop breast clinic? It could be because you’re at different hospitals. It could be because of different referral systems at different GP surgeries, whether a button gets ticked or not.

In my experience (I have cancer, not breast), it could be because the mammogram slot came up and whoever is handling your care snapped it up because they are efficient and really good at advocating for their patients. One of my consultants is fantastic like that. He always gets me the last available surgical slot, or gets me my scan results a week early because he knows I’ve been worrying about something. My guess is someone is just on it, not because they expect the results to be bad ones, if that’s what’s worrying you.

Hope it all goes well for you. Try to keep yourself distracted while you wait.

Thank you, that's very reassuring. I appreciate your reply.

I’ve been in the urgent referral twice. Each time it’s been nothing to worry about. Googling won’t help you with anything as nobody knows the outcome right now, unless they have a crystal ball, but I understand why people do it-myself included, however I do try and draw the line with cancer related issues. In the last couple of years, I’ve had referrals for two types of gynaecological issues, oral issues and post menopausal bleeding - all of which are of concern to a G/dentist, re cancer. I’m fine. Read a book/ craft/bake/exercise/eat chocolate - just try and distract your mind. Wishing you all the best, OP.

Thank you for all the kind replies

My breast cancer was picked up at routine mammogram. I was expecting a call back because I had notice a lump a few weeks before my appointment and it would have been no faster if I’d seen my GP then been referred. Once the mammogram had picked up a suspicious area I was called back to the breast clinic within a week of the first mammogram. So in the system rapidly.

Statistically, 1 in 10 women who are called back from a mammogram will be diagnosed with bc. I believe it is about 1 in 100 that are referred via the two week wait. It is probably a lot cheaper and provides better triage to have mammogram first. So instead of having to do a full breast clinic work up on 100 women to find the 1 with breast cancer, they are circumventing the 2week urgent referral by screening the 100 women by mammogram to find the 10 that need the full breast clinic investigation. Hope this mak s sense.

Over a third of women are diagnosed, early, via routine screening. The other two thirds via GP referral when they feel a lump, often at a more advanced stage. But this doesn’t mean that it won’t be treatable or even curable. Catching it before you are aware of it is obviously better and I think there is pressure to start screening at an earlier age. Certainly if you have immediate family members with breast cancer our area provide a family clinic.

My DSis had bc at 34 so I attended the family clinic and had regular screening until I was 50 when I was entered into the normal screening service. As a result they had over 10yrs of images to compare my mammograms with so it was easy to pick up the change.

I would think that your local bc unit have found a way round the 2week urgent referral problems ( which is now much longer than 2 weeks) and realised that it is quicker to do a mammogram then use the valuable clinic time for those with demonstrable radiological anomalies. Although it’s likely that this will only apply if you are 40+ when breast tissue becomes less dense.

I wouldn’t read anything into the speed with which you are being seen other than that your local unit are being proactive and clever. If there is anything on your mammograms you will be seen rapidly.

Hopefully you will be one of the 99 who are clear.

This was really really helpful thank you