GP practice asking me to make an appointment

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After a long wait I finally got the results of my second excision this Monday past.  At the hospital appointment I was told that I wouldn’t need further surgery (good), that I would undergo a course of radiotherapy sometime in the new year and go on Letrozale for five years.  I have an appointment with the radotherapy department on 22nd December, presumably to discuss this and make checks and preparations.

 

Then yesterday a letter came from my GP medical practice, asking me to make an appointment with a doctor to ‘discuss a recent hospital letter’.  The letter came while I was at work so I have to wait until Monday before I phone.  Maybe it’s just my stress levels that have peaked, but this has made me very anxious.  At the hospital appointment they did say that they would send a request to my GP surgery for a prescription for letrozole, and advised me to phone the surgery in a week or two to check if it was in.   I guess they would be passing on the results of my surgery and details of further treatment to my GP practice too.  But no suggestion was made that my GP practice would call me for an appointment.   My results and treatment arrangements are all being dealt with at the hospital.  So why would the GP practice suddenly want me to come in and discuss it after all this time?  They have never called me in before, and I was diagnosed in August.

 

I have really been struggling these past months and weeks, going to work and dealing with other difficult issues through everything.  I could have done without this extra anxiety and having to organise and drag myself to yet another appointment, which will probably be hard to get at this time of year; I also don’t want to have to cancel yet another work shift as I’m not on a contract and don’t get paid for time off.  Plus there’s Christmas coming up.

 

Does anyone know from your own experience, is it just usual procedure or routine for your medical practice to want to see you at this point …like just to check that you’re ok with everything?  I keep trying to convince myself that that’s all it is, not that some new complication has suddenly come up. I could try and ask the receptionist when I phone on Monday but doubt they’ll tell me, so I’ll just have to suffer more anxiety until the appointment.

 

Thanks for any input.

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Rosealba

 

I would say that the letter will be with regard to your prescription for letrozole and the GP wanting to just check everything for you, there is also a medical exemption ceritificate that you get because you are entitled to free prescriptions now so they might do that as part of the appointment.  When I had my Oncologist apt and before I started rads my surgery rang for me to come in and see one of the GPs, she just went through where I was up to date, checked my scars, got me to fill in the exemption form and did my prescription for my tamoxifen as my oncologist only gave me 28 days worth

 

At your apt on 22nd, I am assuming this is your planning appointmetn, they will review your onocologists report, do your tattoos, honestly they are nothing at all to worry about, and check your measurements.  You will also see a rads nurse who will go through the whole thing with you, advising on moisturising etc.,

 

I honestly do not think it is anything to worry about, but I would make sure that you get an apt slot asap so that you have got your repeat prescription in place in case you run low over Xmas.  Also when you ring on Monday you could ask for the GP to give you a call back to discuss if the receptionist wont tell you anything.

 

Sending you a big assuring hug

 

Helena xxxx