Breast clinic appointment confusion

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1

Hi, found a lump in right breast, saw dr who examined and confirmed they could feel the lump as well. Referred to breast clinic urgently as my mum has had breast cancer twice and two mastectomies 18yrs apart.

Have appointment on Tuesday but appointment letter says:

“This is a clinical consultation appointment with a breast specialist.

WE WILL NOT PERFORM A MAMMOGRAM OR ULTRASOUND SCAN DURING THIS VISIT.”

My GP told me the appointment at the breast clinic would involve mammogram, possibly an ultrasound as well and a biopsy. So I am confused now about what the appointment on Tuesday is for? I have a lump, confirmed by GP which needs investigating which is what I thought would happen at the appointment on Tuesday.

Obviously extremely anxious and just want to get investigations started.

Thanks for listening.

2

Hi @orla81 :smiling_face_with_three_hearts:

I’m so sorry that you are going through this.

I found a lump and went to my GP, who found another lump. I was referred on the 2 week cancer referral and had an appointment later that week.

Unfortunately at the time, at my hospital, the mammogram machines had broken. So I got a message to say that no tests would be done.

At the appointment the consultant examined me, said they were probably cysts and booked me in for 10 days later for tests.

Don’t worry that they are not taking this seriously. There could be a number of reasons why the tests are not happening that day. They will probably book tests as soon as possible.

Wishing you lots of luck :two_hearts:

3

Thank you so much for replying, patience has never been one of my strong points. And I guess everything tells you to be speedy about getting things checked so you just want everything to go as quickly as possible. How are you now?

Thanks so much for replying.

4

Please don’t worry if things don’t happen as quickly as you think. I’m giving the same advice others gave me, sometimes things take time.

I found my lump in February. Luckily, the lumps are just cysts. Unfortunately, during a mammogram they found another area of concern. Over the last few months I’ve had various failed biopsies and an unclear MRI. Due to the wait, particularly without knowing anything, I thought that the hospital wasn’t concerned. I’ve written many panicked posts on here. At one point a ‘watch and wait’ was suggested but I’ve learned to wait until it’s all been discussed at Multi Professional Meetings before taking it as a decision. The hospital has now decided that I need a surgical biopsy.

Hopefully, yours will be much quicker than mine (I’ve been an unusual case) and fingers crossed nothing to worry about. The waiting for appointments and not knowing is the worst.

I’ll be thinking of you on Tuesday :smiling_face_with_three_hearts:

5

Sorry to hear your waiting is ongoing, thank you for taking the time to reply when you are also in this place.

I’ll update on Tuesday when I have had my appointment.

Take care.

1 Like
6

Hi orla81

Thank you for posting. It is understandable that you are anxious about the breast lump that you have found and want to have it investigated as soon as possible.

Most breast lumps are not signs of breast cancer, but it is always important to get any changes checked, as you have done. The breast specialist at the breast clinic will assess your lump and refer you for any further investigations that are needed.

Breast clinics work in different ways to assess patients using the ways your GP described. Some have made changes to how their clinics run, to accommodate the numbers of people referred to them. Not every person referred to a breast clinic will require a mammogram and ultrasound, but if it is recommended, the doctor will arrange this for you. Depending on the capacity at the hospital these further tests will sometimes be done at a separate appointment as @candy5 mentions.

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Best wishes

Katy

Breast Care Nurse

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