Suspect lump investigations, want results in private, advice please.

[fakenamefornow]

Have a breast lump, not been to GP or done anything yet because one thing terrifies me. Can anyone please advise. If I am to get a cancer diagnosis, I want to receive the news in private at home, on my own. Email would be perfect that I can open when ready in the right place. I've seen online that no doctor would ever agree to give me such bad news in this way. That it's an absolute 100% no and the only way they would ever even discuss a diagnosis would be in person in public (ie in their office which feels public to me).
Can anyone tell me if this is really true? The thought of this gives me almost panic attacks. I want to be alone to let news like that sink in and be free to react naturally to the news without having to hold it together in public.
Any know?

You will most likely, if you are referred to a breast clinic by your GP, have all 3 tests done at the same time. A mammogram, an ultrasound and a biopsy. The ultrasound/mammogram can only tell if it is likely cancer or not, the biopsy is needed to confirm but also tell the doctors what type of cancer it is (if it is cancer). Again, they are working on the idea that time is paramount so rather than call you back for a biopsy, if they feel you need one it will be done there an then. But the first 2 tests will give them a good idea as to if it's cancer or something more benign.

I just wanted to say I TOTALLY understand this. I have always preferred to get bad news by email, letter or at least, without someone watching my face as I get the news.
I just feel far more able to cope alone.

Oh and also biopsy reports can take up to 2 weeks to come in so they will have to call you when those results are ready. You won't get them the same day.

Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Somebody actually gets it!
I also hope, when the time comes, hopefully not for decades, to die alone. Last thing I'd want was some deathbed scene. Although, on that, I'd be willing to have one if it was better for my kids and what they wanted/needed.
With my medical treatment though, I don't think bad news delivery should be what's best for the doctors/how they like to do it. What's best for me should be first.

I get it. I would much rather have received results on an NHS app notification than waiting to see the consultant. Waiting is the worst part and at least you could get your head around it before discussing treatment options. Especially when you then go in the room and they start off with general chit chat and you just want answers!

But the most important thing is to find out if it is cancer or not and get on the treadmill for treatment. If the nhs will only offer that option, then it is worth going ahead with, even if it is not your preferred method of communication.

I've been unfortunate to have had three separate diagnosis of cancer (but lucky enough to have survived all three).

I'm each case I've insisted that my nearest and dearest wait in the waiting room until I've been told the outcome of the tests. I just felt a real need to let my reaction to the outcome be paramount, a couple of minutes was all I needed.

to the doctors, you are a patient. Apart from your medical history they know nothing about you. So it didn't bother me that they were there. I wasn't concerned with their reaction, and id guess they've seen every reaction humanly possible. In fact it was helpful because they could fill in the "what happens next".

just take the first step and get to your GP asap.

you could be worrying about nothing at all, or you could be taking the first step to saving your life.

Don't be so ridiculous, it doesn't work like this. Firstly, you do not have cancer until a doctor tells you you have cancer. Over 90% of lumps are benign, the odds are most certainly in your favour. The most important thing is to present ASAP because the earlier breast cancer is caught, the more treatable it is. If it's only a DCIS, that stage 0.

Go to the GP, they will refer you under a two week pathway to a one stop clinic. They will screen you, do any biopsies if need be and book you in for a follow up appointment, usually a fortnight later and always on the telephone. If they call you and ask you to come in, then it could be a concern but at the same time, it could be nothing - I say this from experience as I have been in this situation four times over the space of twenty years. Only once was it to tell me I had cancer. (The other three times they called me in because they wanted me to have genetic testing/join a special screening programme). And if they call you in, you can brace yourself/take someone with you. Telling a someone they have cancer is a well-trodden path, sadly, the consultant and breast cancer nurse are well-practiced and look after you. And to be frank, at the initial diagnosis, there is still a lot of information they do not know, so what they they tell you not only with regards to the tumour but also the treatment plan will not necessarily be the final diagnosis.

I remember being told I had cancer face-to-face and wanting to leave to go home pretty much immediately. I pretty much did that although had to go get bloods done first. When I went home, I was able to process the information and then I called my breast cancer nurse to talk further.

Ultimately, you need to set the ball in motion and go see you GP/be referred. Wishing you well 💐

This entirely.
All my cancer diagnosis have followed a similar format. Symptoms, GP, referral, biopsy/ MRI/CT, appointment face to face with a consultant and a nurse in the background for results. I then get to ask questions and a treatment plan Is shared with me.

That’s my experience.
Good luck OP. Don’t delay.

If they give you bad news they also will be discussing next steps, many clinics are designed so you flow from one part to another eg then you will get more bloods done then see the oncology dept re treatment plan.

Replied to wrong quote!
You don’t collect the results as such ( like in a report, although you can request scan results). It’s more that you go for a F2F appointment to discuss the results and potential treatment plan.

You do realise that many of us on this board, actually do HAVE cancer or are not far off treatment? Talking about your death bed, when you haven’t even been to see the GP yet (?) is a bit off the mark sorry. Also, many cancers are treat able and are not an immediate death sentence.

IF you ARE diagnosed with cancer ( and i sincerely hope you are not) you will be guided by the oncologists and their team. You won’t be thinking “ me me me” for a bit.

Good luck OP.

Excellent advice as always 👍

It’s quite a specific worry - do you know why you might feel like this? The needing to be alone with no one seeing you?

You need to be there to hear the experts. I was diagnosed with breast cancer but fortunately I was also told that my cancer was treatable. If I had received a letter I would have gone into a massive hole of misery and fear. My experience was very similar to many women on here in that the process involved a gradual realisation that my lump was likely to be cancerous. We are very lucky that such skilled professionals can diagnose and reassure us about the process.
if you look at most of the posts on here women tend to panic once home. Give them a chance to do their jobs.. they know what they're doing.

Oh, I'm so sorry, when I talked about dying alone I ment it to just illustrate wanting to be alone in difficult situations.

And I'm very grateful that people have taken the time to answer and even sharing their own experiences.

Thankfully we have one stop clinic for lumps in boobs - when you get the appointment you are asked to expect a four hour visit, and you get the diagnosis

Thankfully we are told we get this appointment within 2 weeks

Im at six weeks and still waiting ........ 10 weeks is normal for this part of the UK

Im pretty certain I've nothing to be worried about, but at the same time Im shitting a brick

At this stage I wouldn't give a fiddlers fuck if I was left a voice mail with diagnosis, I just want one

Take it from me, if you’re told you have advanced cancer the last thing you’re thinking about is holding it together for the doctor.

You are absolutely not told in public, it’s you and the doctor. Sometimes a specialist nurse, but you could ask them to leave.

Often things aren’t as straightforward as you have cancer, we’ll do x. There’s uncertainty and nuance that just cannot be conveyed adequately in a letter, without conversation.

Go to the appointment and ask for the results in writing. They might accommodate you.

What's best for you IS what's first. Because what's best for you is to be treated ASAP as that, if needed, gives the best chance of success. Your communication preferences are yours to feel that way about but they are not actually the best thing for you. Put your medical wellbeing first, for the sake of your children if nothing else.

OP, I wanted to add a few more thoughts as this has been on my mind all night and kept me awake. (On my part, I am someone who has been dealing with breast lumps for 30+ years, the first of which was when I was 15. I was eventually diagnosed with breast cancer at 47. In the interim, have had dozens of trips to various breast clinics and consultants, numerous biopsies, and several lumpectomies.

With all this in mind, You are totally getting ahead of yourself and worrying about an outcome that might well not happen for you. There are any number of reasons to be called in for a face-to-face after finding a lump/attending a one stop clinic (or similar). Yes, cancer might be one of those things, but the initial biopsies might have been non-conclusive and indeterminate. In this instance, they will want to perform another biopsy or even schedule a surgery to investigate further. Both these things have happened to me. Or, perhaps there is something in your medical history, either your own or your family's, maybe your background/ethnicity that they want to discuss with you - it could be as simple as the fact they think it could be worth talking to your about genetic testing to see if you carry a gene mutation. Again, this is also something I have been asked to come in to discuss.

Either way, at this moment in time, you know nothing other than you have a lump in your breast. First things first, go see your GP for a referral. Additionally, it is also worth considering your own timescale. By this I mean how long have you had the lump? I ask this because if you're still menstruating/not yet reached menopause and it has been less than a month, it might well be hormonal and gone by this time next week. If you have had it for a few months, go now. Time really is of the essence, but, and I have to stress, the odds really are in your favour of it not being cancer. And if it is, you will be surprised by how well you cope. And if you do have it, breast cancer is rarely the killer it once was. I say this as someone in their family who is the first to get a cancer diagnosis and not die within six months. In fact, my maternal grandmother died from breast (and ovarian) cancer in her late 40s, my aunt died of breast cancer at 34. That was several decades ago and treatment for breast cancer has come on such a long way that the survival rates are excellent, more so if you have a hormonal cancer, and especially if it is caught early. For many, breast cancer is nothing more than a blip - a lumpectomy/breast conserving surgery, radiotherapy, and hormone treatment - no chemotherapy, no mastectomy, very little change to their lives, and something that never effects their lives again.

By avoiding not going and worrying about an outcome that might well not even effect you, is causing you stress, possibly for nothing. And if after everything it is cancer, there will be support for you, but most importantly, they will start gathering more information about you/your physiology - a huge part the initial cancer diagnosis face-to-face conversation is ensuring they take bloods that day and talk to you about other investigations they might need to do, be it more biopsies, an MRI and other scans. Being told you have cancer is just the beginning and very much the quiet before the storm of appointments. But, and like I said, all this is moot at the moment. Just concentrate on going to the GP.

Lastly, you asked what would happen if you refused to go in to discuss results (should you be asked to). They will keep calling you until you do. I say this as someone who managed to miss several voice mails asking me to come in. More often than not, the person who is calling you usually has zero idea of why you are being asked to come back in anyway, and even if they do, they are not allowed to discuss your results on the phone.

Take a deep breath, call your GP. Just get the ball rolling.

@Enigma54 Thank you. Hope all is ok with you 💕

As a veteran of multiple breast biopsies and subsequent surgeries I get it.

I would far rather get the results by letter and I have actually just had my latest 2WW cancer pathway results sent to me by letter. That was from dermatology though rather than the breast clinic. That was not by request either -it seems the standard protocol.

The Breast clinic always insist on a f2f results appt. They were however happy to give me my results over the phone during the Covid era.

The GP will refer you to the one stop breast clinic, where you’ll be examined, mammo’ed, ultrasound. If they look suspicious, you’ll have a biopsy which takes a week or two to come back. In the OSBC you will be given a ‘warning shot’ of the likelihood, then come back to a clinic when the results of the biopsy are back. News is delivered by the doctor, probably with a Nurse Specialist present for support. It is not public. The sooner you sort this, the easier it will be to deal with. It may be a fibroadenoma and you will have made yourself ill for no reason.