"Non urgent" referral to breast clinic- worried

[Chattycat78]

Just that. Today was my third visit to the gp after I found a red inflamed area around my areola. It' like a few of the glands appear red and inflamed. No lump or pain.

i went back to the gp because it didn't go away. The second gp told me to come back in 3 weeks to see if it had changed and today was my third trip. The same gp thinks it's probably nothing and got a senior colleague to check too. They both said they believe it's nothing, but they would refer me anyway to "put it to bed".

I know I should be pleased they're looking into it, but I'm pretty scared tbh. They don't know it's nothing. I have 2 small children, and the idea of having to deal with the big C right now is terrifying.

Can anyone stop me going from naught to one hundred here?

Three GPs think it's "nothing" (by which I mean "not cancer") and - if there was any real doubt - they would have referred you urgently under the "2 week wait" rule.

Although breast surgeons spend most of their time dealing with cancer (and "is this cancer?"), they are also the only doctors a GP can refer to if they need a breast specialist opinion.

They are sending you to the breast clinic because the problem hasn't gone away by itself and they don't know what it is or how it should be treated. They have sent you non-urgently because they don't think it is cancer.

It doesn't sound to me as if you should be worrying at all.

Thanks for replying. I appreciate it.

I agree with JohnHunter. Try to think of it as a referral to a specialist (which it is) rather than a referral to the breast cancer clinic (which it isn’t).

If they thought there was a possibility it could be cancerous they would have made an urgent referral.