First year follow-up appointment

Life after a breast cancer diagnosis Recovering from treatment
1

Hello All,

I was not entirely sure where to post this but hope someone will see it and be able to respond. I am due to have my first year follow-up appointment with my surgeon on Friday this week. There has been a four week gap between the check-up  mammogram and the clinic appointment. Although I was upset by the mammogram (insensitive radiographer and possibly a bit of a flashback to being diagnosed), over the weeks I have managed my anxiety by telling myself that the surgeon would have been in contact before the appointment if they had seen anything on the mammogram.  However, last Thursday, I had a message from the clinic to say that the surgeon wanted to see me earlier on the Friday and now I am worrying that they have brought the appointment forward as they want to do more tests. It now feels a long wait until Friday.

There is no reason to think that the cancer has come back as originally no spread to lymph nodes, clear margins and clear mammogram 8 months ago. Any feedback, from other people’s experiences would be most appreciated.

Thanks

Rannie x

2

Hi Rannie

I’m sorry you haven’t received a response yet. If you would like to talk things through with someone in the mean time, our friendly nurses are available to lend a listening ear on our confidential Helpline.

You can reach them on freephone 0808 800 6000 (Mon-Fri 9am-4pm; Sat 9am-1pm). Alternatively, you can get in touch with our Nurses in the Ask Our Nurses area of the Forum and they can respond to you online. We’re always here to support you 

Best wishes,

Chiara

3

Hi @Rannie  - speaking from experience I know my own anxiety skyrockets around my annual checks/mammogram time. All rational thoughts go out of the window and my mind goes into overdrive. Also the first one is bound to bring back memories of diagnosis.

There could be any number of reasons why your appointment has been brought forward - perhaps a cancellation and your surgeon would rather fill all appointments back to back so he can finish sooner. Perhaps he’s operating and needs to leave his clinic sooner. I’m just speculating of course.

Try to stay focused on what you do know - that you had clear margins, a clear mammogram 8 months ago - rather than letting your mind race ahead. Easier for me to type than put into practice!

I really hope you get the reassurance you are looking for on Friday - please come back and update us. Big hugs, Evie xx

4

Hi,

I completely understand your anxiety. I was similar to you… I had a mastectomy in Dec, nothing spread to the lymph nodes, clear margins. I had an appointment scheduled for the cancer centre and they bought it forward by a week… right after they told me that I didn’t need chemo or radiation. So my anxiety was high. When I got there they told me the oncologist was going away on holidays and wouldn’t be there for the appointment the following week. Sometimes they move the appointments around as it’s more convenient for them. 
I hope everything goes well with your appointment. Please keep us posted.

Olivia