Breast thickening/lump - two week wait, can't get seen

[Howarewenotthereyet]

I found a lumpy area on 29 June. Took a week until the gp could see me. saw the gp who confirmed an area of thickening/lumpyness in my breast, heading into my armpit. My mum had aggressive breast cancer which she thankfully survived. Gp referred me on the 2 week wait pathway. I called the hospital to book in to be told there is a strike and they don't know when the next clinic will be. Two weeks is up on 21 July. Radiographers strike is 25-27 July I believe. They can't give me any info but I'm assuming I can't get seen in July.

I am worried. A good friend died earlier this year having had his skin cancer diagnosis and surgery delayed during COVID. I am trying to figure out how to do this privately - can't really afford it but I have two young kids so don't feel I can wait when there is no estimate of an end. But I can't figure out/find any services to do this privately. Mammogram services are for people who don't have symptoms. I think from reading the two week wait would be a scan and possibly a biopsy. I'm trying not to panic but want a plan. Any advice or information on how to take this forward privately?

I appreciate there will be others that have got it far worse than me with operations being cancelled.

I'm so sorry you're going through this!

A couple of years ago I had a health scare with post coital bleeding. My gp referred me for a colposcopy. I received a letter saying that if I hadn't heard anything in a certain time to call a number so I rang and they said I'd be added to a wait list. Well 2 weeks later I was still waiting and starting to get anxious. I booked in for a private smear test. When I got there and explained what happened she was horrified, called the hospital and my gp and had a go at them all on my behalf, and got me seen within a week. So I would suggest booking an appointment with a private gp and taking it from there. They may be able to get things rolling with nhs treatment like they did for me, or they will be able to tell you what to do next xx

You could just Google ' private oncologist near me' , have a look through who is a breast cancer specialist, and call them up. You will probably get an appointment in a couple of days

Yep simple as that...cos everyone has all that extra money just lying around.

I had a health scare a few years ago. My GP told me to use choose and book.
There were no appointments anywhere and the help line just said hard luck, no appointments.
My symptoms were serious.
I emailed my MP.
She got me an appointment.
It is worth a try, even though I can understand that the strike is a huge issue.
I am so sorry you are in this position.

I was referred by my GP under 2 week wait for bowel symptoms in February. I'm still on the list waiting for an appointment as far as I know.

sounds like a small delay due to strikes? waiting isn't nice, but try not to worry, you will get there. A delay of a week or two won't make any difference to you in the long run. ( there will be longer delays AFTER the scans and biopsies, if you need treatment)

Best wishes

I had a breast lump when breastfeeding in 2019. Got referred to clinic and got babysitter - but the clinic was cancelled whilst I was waiting. Then I went to the clinic the week after and again it was cancelled whilst I was waiting. Eventually got a scan and biopsy at the clinic the week after - so 4 weeks not 2!

In 2021 had another lump, decided to try private. I went to BMI - booked it for the next day, consultant did a check, ultrasound and biopsy all at the same appointment and I got my results the next week.

To be clear - the clinics were cancelled whilst other women and I were waiting in the waiting room to be seen - it was appalling and no explanation was given at all other than consultant was too busy. On the 2nd time I asked to go to another clinic in central london instead of my local hospital in SE London and that wasn’t cancelled

the private route isn’t cheap obviously (I am lucky to have health insurance from work) but in this situation I felt I needed to do that for my mental health

@HadEnoughOfBears the op specifically asked for advice and information on how to go about doing it privately. Try reading properly next time.

Thank you.

@Namechangedforthis25 hope you are well. How much was it for the private assessment/diagnosis? I am also in South East London :)

@RagamuffinCat that is awful, I'm sorry you are having to wait so long. I hope you can get seen soon.

@orangeleavesinautumn I wish I could be so confident. The society of radiographers have included this in their statement about their strike "Waiting lists are growing and, for a cancer patient awaiting diagnosis and radiotherapy treatment, even a two-week wait can mean the difference between life and death." Not terribly calming when the strike is causing you additional waiting times on top of (what they are saying are) already long waiting times.

Sorry to hear you are going through this. I was diagnosed with cancer and am currently in remission, but have recent experience of the 2 week wait pathway (within the last 12 months, albeit pre-strikes). The initial stage that you are at can seem to go on for an age. At least they have referred you and not fobbed you off with antibiotics. I found that once they suspected there was something wrong (Ie, I had an ultrasound first), the scans are all booked in fairly quickly after that. So please don't despair! I had 2 scans and a biopsy in a week. The CT/ MRI scans are sometimes done by private companies (not a good thing in my books), but surely they won't be on strike? Hopefully it is nothing and you won't get to this point.

I would say that persistence is key and sometimes you have to be a bit of a nuisance to get seen. Ring your GP/ any contacts you have and say how worried you are. I always found that telling them I am worried really helped get things moving.

That does not apply to breast cancer though

In my experience and it probably differs area to area, but you can ask the gp for a private referral. The gp doesn’t need to know how you’re going to pay for that.

Personally though as someone with BC I’d wait for the NHS a bit longer and try not to worry. Some areas do a “one stop shop” type approach for BC eg my first NHS hospital appointment was consultant, mammogram, ultrasound & biopsy, then back to consultant, all in one long appointment. So if yours do anything like that (maybe you can ring the hospital and ask what their usual procedure is) then that will actually move you on very quickly once you do get seen.

If you want to go privately, make a list of the nhs breast specialists in your area. Look on the local trust websites.
Then google each one to find out if they do private practice and where.
Ring their private secretary to find out how to see them. You may need a copy of your gp letter.
It is always best to do it this way because it is easier to move back into the nhs under the care of the same consultant if necessary.

I got a call from the hospital int he two weeks but my colonoscopy didn't take place for months. They were booking appointments months ahead.

Now I've had the colonoscopy I have to wait another month to remove large polyps that have a 50% chance of being cancer.

I believe a few 100 plus extra for the initial confirmation (although all on the same day)

search private breast one stop clinic - you have options in London Bridge for example (HCA). Worth calling them tomorrow

*initial consultation sorry (autocorrect)

I had a gp appointment this afternoon and my gp booked me a two week pathway appointment for exactly two weeks away. That’s disgraceful that you’re being treated that way op, I really hope you get seen soon. My lump is also in my breast so I know how anxiety inducing this situation is. Sending my love x