Huge mass in breast aibu to go to a&e ? **Diagnosis in and treatment underway for the OP** Title edited by MNHQ

[needabitof]

Last week I went to the doctors - my right breast has a big mass in it that has appeared in the previous week.
He checked my liver, lymph nodes, so I know what he's thinking, and referred me to the breast clinic under the 14 day rule. Except it isn't 14 days, it's over three weeks before you can be seen. The gp can do nothing to speed things up apparently.
I thought I need to pay for a private mammogram, it's £400. I'm desperate - imagining the worst constantly.
Managed to get a referral sent by the gp to the private hospital, only to be told they're breast clinic has been cancelled for the next three weeks.
Aibu to go to a&e to get some medical advice or wait? The mass is getting bigger and painful each day.
What would you do? Thanks in advance.

The gp is the right place to go.

If it is getting bigger and more painful, then yes, go straight to A&E .

My GP sent me there immediately once she realised a referral wouldn't get me to see a radiologist/breast surgeon quickly enough and A&E sent me straight up for ultrasounds and drainage as it turned out to be septic mastitis.

I would absolutely be going to A&E.

If it’s growing that quickly then it sounds like an abscess or infection that may need draining. Infections within the breast tissue can be serious if not treated quickly and appropriately.

For example when women get mastitis, I have known many women have to admitted for drainage and Intravenous antibiotics which are far more effective than oral ones. Plus, thinking about worse case scenarios, I have known some infections in the breast lead to sepsis if not addressed quickly.

If it’s growing at the rate it is and it’s causing you increasing amounts of pain then I would advise you go to A&E.

You need to go back to your GP today, not A&E.

All this “go to A&E now before it gets busy…” is utter bollocks. It’s almost always busy. Really busy. DS2 would often turn up to a shift on a morning to be faced with a queue of ambulances waiting to offload and a waiting room full of patients waiting to be seen.

Gp. Or ring 111.

A&E is for accidents and emergencies.

It must be a worry op

@needabitof i would go yo a&e!. They can give you an ultrasound and can do blood tests!.

Even if it is an abscess and needs drainage your GP should be able to refer you directly to see the surgeon. Save you hours sitting in a&e. Unless you feel horribly unwell a&e is not appropriate.

@DontWantTheRivalry

I would absolutely be going to A&E.

If it’s growing that quickly then it sounds like an abscess or infection that may need draining. Infections within the breast tissue can be serious if not treated quickly and appropriately.

For example when women get mastitis, I have known many women have to admitted for drainage and Intravenous antibiotics which are far more effective than oral ones. Plus, thinking about worse case scenarios, I have known some infections in the breast lead to sepsis if not addressed quickly.

If it’s growing at the rate it is and it’s causing you increasing amounts of pain then I would advise you go to A&E.

I agree with this. If you have an infection then going to the GP today will just delay the time it takes to get it properly examined. You may need i/v antibiotics.

Understandably you’re worried Go to GP, they can deal with this
A&E cannot fast track or expedite the breast clinic appt. Nor will they give specialist advice

Sadly A&E may not do anything as the GP has already done a referral. I had similar issues during lockdown with women’s issues (very heavy bleeding) and went to A&e several times only to be told they can’t do anything as my go was already aware and I was waiting for gynae appointment. I know how worrying it must be and I looked into going private. If you can afford it I would pay for a private scan.

Call 111.

Have you tried calling the breast clinic yourself? I had to after my referral never came through, turns out that the go forgot to press the submit button after filling out the referral form. The clinic said I could call back each day to ask for cancellations and I got a much sooner appointment that way (although still outside of the 2 week timeframe unfortunately).

Go back to the GP

They can properly examine you and prescribe antibiotics, IV antibiotics at home depending on if this has been rolled out where you live.

A and E do not speed up 2WW appointments; it would be a waste of A and E time to think they could have the same skill set to do what the appointment would do in what is likely to be a very overcrowded A and E department.

Lots of people did not attend appointments or seek help during covid so yes, there is a back log - which is why there is a three week wait.

However, best to get the pain (and possible infection) sorted via the GP.

Hope you feel better soon.

The speed it's growing with makes me think it's probably something fairly harmless long-term provided it's looked at quickly, but if it's grown from nothing in a week, thinking ahead it could be huge before very long. As others have said, GP would be your best immediate term bet.

My Uncle had a heart attack the night before last - my poor aunt rang for an ambulance at 8pm, he was blue lit into the local county hospital.... and was waiting until 7am to be taken off the ambulance and seen. He's still on an assessment ward waiting to be transferred to the local cardiac centre....... 36 hours on.

A & E isn't the place. They're barely treating life and death cases right now, and certainly not things that can be assessed by a GP. Our surgery can refer you to the AEC unit at our local hospital (Ambulatory Emergency Care) - does yours have something similar? It's generally quicker than A & E.

I’d go and find a private clinic that can see you a bit future away from where you live.

It’s nit that I have an issue with A&E. it’s more that I am not sure it’s the best place for you, as in the one where you will get the test/support you need.
Eg if your hospital doesn’t have any slots for 3 weeks for a mammogram, I’m nit sure they will magically find time for you because you are in A&E iyswim

I had this and went to a and e. Turned out I had a nasty infection and needed IV antibiotics. If I hadn't have gone it would have got worse and worse. . . . Please get yourself seen

Oh dear, BrilloPaddy, that's awful. We hear about the NHS in crisis and long waits in A&E but I'd have expected a heart attack patient to be seen sooner than that. I hope he makes a complete recovery.

A and e will most likely refer you to the beast clinic. I would just wait for the appointment. Hope you’re ok 💐

Do you have a go out of hours service? Go there if you have one.

Contact your GP again to tell them it’s getting bigger and more painful - they may refer you to be seen by the surgical team in A and E . If you get no joy from your GP then just go to A and E .
More likely you’d have an ultrasound rather than a mammogram .
Good luck .

Could you see if there have been any cancellations at the breast clinic

I hope were on the phone at 8 to the GP saying it's got worse and you need an urgent appointment today. Best of luck.

Thank you so much for all your replies. I'm so sorry about your uncle #brillopaddy.
I've phoned the gp again and am waiting for a call back but meanwhile I rang the breastcare unit as someone on here suggested - thank you so much for that suggestion - they have a cancellation this afternoon. Even though I was on the cancellation list being persistent is the answer I suppose.
I can see that they aren't going to have the expertise or be able to jump the queue for me at a & e, I'm just so desperate I didn't know where to turn.
Wish me luck for later and thanks for all your comments, I really appreciate it.

I hope it all goes well @needabitof.