Anxiety - waiting for breast clinic referral

[PerfidiousPanda]

I suffer from pretty bad anxiety at the best of times, but a couple of days ago, my GP found a lump. I had gone to see her as I'd had an inverted nipple for a week or so; when she was checking me, she found the lump too.

I'm crying all the time but also panicking about what lies ahead. Due to some other issues (I won't bore you with all of my history!), I have real problems getting blood taken and the thought of any medical procedure, or cannula scares me so much. I then feel guilty that I am even bothering about something like that given what others have to cope with. I then panic that I'll have terminal cancer and I would wish for the things I was scared of now, because they would be much less worrying.

Does any of that make sense?

I can't see what the inverted nipple could be that isn't bad - everything suggests it is a tumour pulling the skin. I think the skin is a little puckered, which is anther bad sign, and there is no pain.

(I've namechanged as a few RL people know my MN name and I'm not ready to speak to anyone yet - I've told one person, other than my partner, and she's been lovely; I just don't want to go public.)

Oh you poor thing - utter nightmare waiting for appointments, tests and results.

If you want to come and join us on the Tamoxigang thread you'll find lots of understanding and support.

Thank you so much for replying Marshy - I haven't had any diagnosis yet so would feel a bit of a fraud amongst people who are on medication. I suppose I was just looking to offload really.

Lots of people join the thread who are in the same position as you, most just for a passing visit as the majority of breast lumps and bumps turn out to be nothing sinister. The waiting to find out is stressful though - we've all been there and know how that feels.
Has your gp referred you to the breast clinic?

Thank you - maybe I could get this thread removed and go over there? Yes, my GP was going to do a referral straightaway. She said 'urgent referral' which worried me too. Within two weeks, but do they all slow down for Xmas?

Hello, I've just had an urgent referral for the breast clinic and mine was all clear, thankfully. The waiting was incredibly hard and anxiety filled. The pluses were that it did help me put my usual worries into perspective. I'm an anxious person too.
It was also an appointment where tests and results were given the same afternoon. The urgent status means they can be quick to rule out cancer in the majority of cases and catch it early in others. How far in to the two week referral are you? My appt was made early but was for the end of the two weeks. Hopefully Christmas won't interfere with yours.

No need to delete your thread panda. Just pop across and see what you think.

Have a look at amberlight's latest post which puts things in perspective a bit.

Referral under the two week rule is pretty standard for breast issues. The clinic is a one-stop shop kind of set up where you will see a doctor and often a breast nurse and they will get investigations done, usually mammogram, ultrasound and sometimes biopsies. Often they can give you an indication of what's going on there and then but sometimes you have to go back a week later for results especially if you've had biopsies taken.

The staff are lovely ime and they make the investigations as easy and comfortable as possible for you.

They will certainly do their best to see you inside the target time of 2 weeks even though it's the Christmas season. I'd be surprised if you had to wait. Nhs services are set up to deal with this kind of thing very efficiently and the vast majority of people on the thread have had very good experiences.

Thank you again Marshy - I'll go over there now.

BugPlaster - that's great news for you, congratulations!

I'm not far into the wait - went to evening clinic on Tuesday, so I assume the countdown starts from Wednesday.