I am 28 years old and have just been diagnosed with breast cancer. I am originally from the Ukraine and I had concerns about my breasts but each time I went to my GP here (2 different ones) in London I was told it was nothing and was not sent to have any scans done.
I recently went back home to the Ukraine and I went to my doctor there and after examination and a sample taken from my left breast he said that I do have cancer in my left breast. (Carcinoma of the left breast). He also gave a letter and a scan to give to my GP in London. I am quite angry now as my suspisions were correct at the time of last year and I could have caught this a lot earler! I have an appointment with my GP in London again on monday morning and I wanted to ask if I can choose the hospital I want to be treated in for example Barts Hospital in London or maybe the Whittington Hospital or do I have to go where the doctor refers me to?
The letter from my doctor in the Ukraine reads:
During clinical examination the palpable was found in the left breast up to 1,5 sm, located at 11 o clock. No nipple dischare at the moment of examination. Axillaries lymph nodes are with normal size and structure. According to the US examination the palpable mass was assessed as suspicious for malignancy BIRADS 4. Besides, a typical previously histologically proven fibroadenomas at 2 and 6 o clock with stable dimensions were found BIRADS 2. Core needle biopsy of suspicious lump of the left breast at 11 o clock with US guidance was performed with local anesthesia of 2% lidocaine (Bard, 14g) Histological examination N 1344 camedocarcinoma.
Recomendation: Special treatment, consultation of oncologist.
Anybody know what this means and what type of treatment I will need?
Not sure what your report means but I think you can ask to be referred to a specific hospital. I have had all my treatment at Barts and can’t fault them, although another patient may have had a different experience, but they are a centre of excellence. I hear that UCH is also a very good hospital.
Cat
Hi natalia
I’m a little confused as T1N0Mx is a small early invasive cancer however comedocarcinoma is usually dcis which an even earlier and is what we would call pre invasive… I’d imagine wherever you are referred they may want to repeat the biopsy for confirmation of pathology.
I think if the hospital you want to be treated at offers the treatment that you need then you can be referred there… Not every hospital will treat breast cancer patients… From what the gp letter suggests that you would require a lumpectomy and radiotherapy… But again this could change after full investigation.
In terms of it no being found early… this is either the earliest invasive or preinvasive cancer so having it checked a year before when it may not have been palpable or big enough to see on ultrasound could have been falsely reassuring.
It’s possible that seeing you have two other areas in your breast containing fibroadenomas that the cancer could have been an incidental finding… I know it’s hard to try not to blame the GPs but it’s sosmall that there may not have been anything noticeable at the time you saw them but you may want to bring this to their attention so they know for future.
I think the best advice is take the letter to your gp and ask if you can be referred to your preffered hospital… And as I said they may want to repeat some tests as some of the information in the letter may have been lost in translation as the treatment for invasive cancer is slightly different to pre invasive cancer in that they may want to check some of your nodes and treat you with tamoxifen if it’s a hormone receptive invasive tumour, which they probably wouldn’t require if it was pre invasive… Sometimes there is a mixture of invasive and pre invasive cancer.
I attended my GP today but she said I could not be reffered to Barts hospital as this was out of my Borough and they can’t refer me there. In the end I had to settle for the whittington hospital in North London.
I actually visited my GP for a second time 6 months ago as I felt this new lump in my breast then and again I was told it was nothing. I now have to wait 2 weeks for an appointment with a breast specialist at the whittington to come through.
I will let you all know the outcome. So it seems I can’t ask to be reffered to the hospital of my choice. Is this right?
Natalia you can choose a different hospital… this is off the citizens advice centre…
"Hospital Choice
In England, if you are referred for a first outpatient hospital appointment, you can choose to go to any NHS hospital that provides a service or a private hospital. This may not apply if you are referred for mental health or urgent services. You can find out more about choosing your hospital at (New window) nhs.uk.
Thanks for this information Lulu. So do I need to ask at my first appointment at the hospital to be referred to Barts or should my GP be able to refer me there straight away?
My current GP is a very arrogant and miserable woman and she is always very blunt when dealing with me and very quick to get me out. I don’t think she likes me very much. She said that I will need to wait 2 weeks for the appointment to arrive from the hospital and she could not tell me if my cancer had a chance of spreading during this time while I wait for appointments to arrive and examinations to take place.
Would it be worth me attending a private doctor and then asking them to refer me to an NHS hospital of my choice is this possible? I am really worried about things getting worse and time is of the utmost importance with cancer.
My GP sent me home 6 months ago when I first noticed this new lump. She done the same thing 12 months ago and while I accept it may not have been cancer 12 months ago I am pretty sure it was cancer 6 months ago. She could have sent me to have a scan at least but she said it was nothing to worry about and when I insisted for an ultrasound she refused. I showed her letters and scans from my doctor in teh ukraine asking for me to have regular check ups on my breasts but she totally ignored them and I didnt even get sent for any tests or scans.
Should I complain about her? She has only been my doctor for about a year and she never seems to want to know or be sympathetic towards me. I have cancer and she has no right to treat me this way and she could at least be sympathetic.
Is there more than 1 gp at your surgery? You can ask to see a different one…, you don’t have see one you don’t like as you really do have to have some faith in your doc.
As far as I understand it your gp should be able to refer you to the hosp you wan to be treated at without having to go to the local hosp… It may not be so quick if you are out of area… But if ou have a confirmed diagnosis I would have Hugh our appt would have been quicker than two weeks…
But in terms of spread if it pre cancer cells then it’s very unlikely to have spread as its not got the power to go to other areas of the body… If its a small early stage breast cancer then it won’t have spread any further in two weeks… Cancers take much longer to spread so if it had spread its likely to have been like the for longer than two weeks.
To go to a private doc your gp has to refer you so prob won’t be any quicker and may actually be longer as they would then need to refer you back to the nhs again.
It would be entirely up to you whether you wish to make a complaint about your gp… The website I posted above has information on how to make complaints.
Thanks again Lulu. The other GP is her husband and to be honest they are both dire but he is better than she is and more understanding. I will let you know what happens.