seen gp 8 days ago with lump/mass pain discharge and blood…she refered me to breast clinic and i hadnt heard anything so phoned hospital today and Well I am TAMPING I’m on the URGENT list and there’s an 8week wait and I can’t have mammogram in mean time because I’m under 40years of age I need to have seen a breast consultant first…sos for rant everyone!!! phoned gp again today and she said she will try and speed things up???im thinking og going private? any advice greatly appreciated emma xx
Hi emma sorry you find yourself here.
i ended up going privately as it was doing my head in Had appt for following night with consultant of my choice ,he did needle biopsy ,mammogram and ultrasound all within 45 mins cost me £900 but to be honest was worth it as it is a horrible time .I was diagnosed with breast cancer he said that he needed to do a core biopsy as well but would refer me back to his nhs clinic as wouldnt change the diagnosis and i had it the following wk and the rest of my treatment is on the NHS .I hope that you are able to get seen quickly i believe that the guidelines are that you should be seen within 2 to 3 wks you might want to find out why there is such a long delay .Have they referred you to a breast clinic ?
All the best will be thinking about you xx caz
hi caz was you told you would have to wait long by gp? what were your symptoms?how did you proceed with the private route? are you going to be seeing the same consultant on the nhs? did you just ask for investigations to be private? sos for all the questions… my gp refered me to the breast clinic in my local hospital and their present waiting list for URGENT patients stands as 8weeks due to the high demand…sos about your outcome hun and i send you my wishes…love emma xx
Emma thats not acceptable! 8 weeks is ridiculous… And not within the guidelines…
I have, since my breast clinic appt which as you know wasnt great, booked myself in for private tests. One stop clinic, results the same day. Then if not good news they will refer me back to NHS for treatment. It is so worth doing for peace of mind. im paying £386 for mine but would pay a thousand if its giong to give me peace of mind. My appt is on Monday.
Heres hoping you get it sorted xx
That is mad Emma, and don’t know what the seeing consultant first thing is about, I’m under 40 and didn’t see consultant til got results a week after mammo, us and biopsy which was a week after as GP, and I wasn’t urgent! Can your GP refer you to a different clinic orhospital, I think you’re supposed to have a choice about where you’re treated. Good luck xx
hi hun if you dont mind me asking how did you book yourself? as i am really thinking of doing this… where are yo going? thanks hun xx
hi zuzy my gp has faxd again today to speed things up but i dont have faith in the hospital now after it took my last referall a week to get to them…shocking prob left in a pile somewhere 
i did ask about another hospital but no comment xx
I’m in London Hun and have booked at a private hospiral very nearby to me. Self referred myself. Some places do this some need referral from GP. Go online in your area and check it out. NhS guidelines though from Gp referral should be 2 weeks standard. I had a delay cos I went on Holliday but when I was finally seen I felt like I was on a conveyer belt and all they did was check listed that they had seen me and them expected me to wait a further 4 weeks for a scan. Total Crap! How they expect anybody to wait with the anxiety that is felt when faced with the fears you have.
Hopen you get it sorted xcxxxxcxxx
thanks sweetie i will check now online xx
I find all this unbelievable! You shouldn’t have to wait more than the 2 week guideline. I think if it were me I would be kicking up a fuss big time. Good luck xxx
Hi Lola yes I been kicking, punching a fight all week with my local hospital in South Wales… I told them today about the 2week guideline and they said at present the breast clinic are on high demand and for urgent referral from gp there is an 8week waiting list…I couldn’t believe my ears and went berserk but it didn’t get me anywhere today just stressed me out all the more… Thank you x
Emma, I see there is a private hospital in Cardiff that has a breast lump clinic which you can access with a go referral
I guess it might be worth looking into if you are prepared to pay rather than wait?
I’ll pm you the link…
Hi emma ,sorry only getting back to you now i hope you have been able to get something sorted dont go kicking yourself about spending the money if you have to there is obviously a problem in your area with the breast clinic services once you get sorted pet might be worthwhile putting a complaint in i
.Think of all the women in the same boat as you going mad at home my wait was only going to be 2 wks on the nhs and that drove me mad 8 wks is just awful. If you go private you will just pay for whatever is done ,my mum went along the same route as me and it cost her just over £300 because he did not need to do all the tests that he did with me (my mum is 10 yrs post mastectomy) .you can usually pick your surgeon when going private i went to the one who had done my mums op as he has good reputation he then just referred me back to himself on the nhs and did my op 2 wks later.
Emma you were asking about my symptoms ,everyone is different i had an area of thickened tissue about one inch in size in my r breast couldnt feel a lump and the surgeon explained to me that the thickening is just normal tissue being pushed up by the lump underneath which was in v deep when i leaned forward you could see a little bit of dimpling in that area too,just remember emma everyone is different hope all goes well for you and you get some answers soon all the best caz xx
Thank you caz I have done a lot of research and spent a lot of last night looking for private clinics but everyone I phoned today were closed until Monday…I will phone hospital again on Monday and if they still say there’s an 8week waiting list after my gp trying to speed it through then I am going to complain as it shouldn’t be happening to us poor women in this dreadful situation… Thank you again x
Go for it Emz. If you do complain, a threat of going to the press can be very helpful, and your MP might be interested too.
They will be open first thing mon morn emma ,have a few clinic numbers handy so as you can get the earliest that suits you if they say they need gp referral letter just ask for photocopy of your referral letter from your gp surgery.
Gp,s are not qualified to say if a lump is benign or malignant so anyone who comes with any lump should be referred im getting angry for you emma its not right.pity you dont know any staff at that hosp there may be a very simple explanation like a consultant on sick leave or a consultant post not filled .Keep your chin up emma hopefully you will know where you stand in a few days time ,im going slightly mad myself as need to get started with chemo and there arent enough nurses in our unit so ive another 2 1/2wks before i am assessed all this waiting is not good for our mental health xx caz
Hi Emma
I’ve just read your postand think its disgraceful. Makes me realise how lucky I’ve been under my health authority and it’s terrible that each one has different guidelines. It’s a postcode lottery.
I would definitely goperi ate for the initial consultation and tests and then hopefully if youchoose a consultant who is nhs he can refer you back .
The waiting game is the most stressful and upsetting. You are in my thoughts and I hope that you get things sorted very soon and at the end of the day you are all clear.
Big hugs
Emma xx
*go private!
Hi Lola I was thinking of getting intouch with my mp…what a nightmare!
caz I can’t believe they are making you wait for your chemo
Having just waited 5.5 weeks for referral, I’d say go private if at all possible! I queried the delay and was told that the current wait was 2 weeks, so it seems I just went to GP in a particularly lumpy week - but that’s not much consolation! My main gripe was that if they’d told me it would be a 5 week wait, rather than ‘you’ll be called soon and seen within a fortnight’, I’d have considered using my private health insurance.