Hi-I found a lump fairly obvious in my left breast on last Sunday -went to GP MOnday who agreed it was there -looked quite shocked actually and said I would get an NHS appt within two weeks. I am wondering if I should go to our local private hospital who can see me in their breast care clinic as early as tomorrow or Saturday-as I have no appt yet with the NHS one! (ok only 5 days I know) of course I’m panicking but feel it may be worth spending the money to either get the news over with or be relieved of the worry!
Has anyone else gone private? and if so did you then transfer to NHS for treatment? Thanks L
Hi Labro, I didn’t go private as my GP said she thought the lump was probably just compressed tissue and she would send me to a breast clinic ‘just in case’. That was on the Tuesday. She phoned on the Friday of the same week and gave me a choice of 3 dates at 3 different places. The most convenient was the next Monday (6 days after GP appt, 3 days after phone call). The breast clinic was really well run and they told me they were pretty certain that it was cancer but I had to go back on the Friday for the core biopsy results. My only complaint about the NHS was that they didn’t come up with the result I wanted, which was obviously that my lump was nothing to worry about.
I hope your lump is nothing to worry about. Only you can know whether you can put it out of your mind while you wait for the NHS appt - if you can’t put it out of your mind, then private might be a good solution.
Hi I was very lucky, found lump on Saturday saw GP Tuesday, saw Consultant Friday all on NHS. However, when it came to the operation, I waited, and then went private. There does not seem to be a problem where I live going between NHS and private and I have been taken care of extremely well.
NICE guidelines say that you are to be seen within two weeks. I am not sure I could have waited the full two weeks. If you are in any way anxious and feel that you cannot wait for the NHS, go private, and I hope that you are in the very high percentage of women who find a lump and are told that there is nothing to worry about.
Best wishes
Hi Labro,
Fingers crossed for you and I hope it’s nothing to worry about. Go with what you feel is best for you - there shouldn’t be a problem mixing NHS & private.
My GP was fairly convinced I had a cyst and also thought that a private appointment wouldn’t be any quicker. Turns out she was wrong on both counts, but I was at the NHS clinic within two weeks anyway (private would have been a couple of days as I found out later).
I had my operation done privately which meant going to a lovely small hospital 10 minutes down the road with all the obvious pluses of being a private patient - own room, TV, good food, visitors whenever I wanted, cups of tea and biccies offered constantly and served on a posh tray with a little teapot 
It also meant that I had my op two weeks earlier than on the NHS. I actually went in on Christmas Eve, home on Christmas Day and was the only patient in the hospital that night and on Christmas Day - now that’s what I call private treatment!!!
I also had my scans privately as again it saved a couple of weeks and private physio.
I’m having my chemo and radio on the NHS though. Even if i went privately it would be done in the same place, by the same people, at the same time. This saves the insurance company a fortune so they’ll pay me for every day of chemo and radio, which will go towards the cost of a 100 mile round trip every day for radio and will then hopefully give us a little break away somewhere nice at the end, which I think we’ll need and couldn’t possibly afford otherwise.
I just always chatted to my consultant and BCN about the options and whether it made any difference in time and made sure they always knew what I wanted to do. They told me that there’s absolutely no problem with mixing NHS and private treatment - it’s just what suits best (and for me was quickest) at the time.
Hope that helps,
Jane xxx
PS I’d have had to wait just over 3 weeks in total from DX to op on the NHS, but my consultant told me originally that he didn’t consider 3 weeks an issue with starting treatment, although 3 months would have concerned him. It wasn’t him with the lump though and 3 weeks seemed an awfully long time!
xx
hi, i was dx from routene mammogram, was given an app for 2weeks could not wait that long, went to local private hopital and saw consultant, it was suggested he did the op in the nhs hospital where he also worked and then tranfered by amb to the private hosp for recuperation etc which was done a week later. he came and discharged me the next day , found it much more affordable as donot have private insurance paid for the consultation at private hospital, room in private hospital and the care, which after the op was nice to get 1 2 1 TLC. the rest of my treatment was done by him at the nhs hospital so i feel i recieved the best of both worlds.
Annie
Thank you all for your advice -I booked an appt at the private hos for 8>45am tomorrow saturday -because I can’t bear any more waiting! But this relys on my GP faxing her referal letter to the consultant! So still I wait! I will let you know how I get on! I thank you all again Laura x
Good decision! I am currently having the odd experience of seeing my consultant privately, but also seeing the same consultant on the NHS when I accompany a newly dx’d friend to her appointments. It’s startling how much more time you get to discuss things when you see someone privately.
fintyx
Hi -went on Saturday -private Doc thinks its only a cyst -drew off fluid and its imediately smaller !! yea!! but going back for mamogram and ultra sound on Weds so will get last bit of reassurance then! I hope! I feel it was definately worth paying for the peace of mind! Thank you all again and all best wishes to all xxLaura
Excellent news! Xx
just wanted to say that i couldnt have asked for any better care and treatment if i had gone privately .I have had all my treatment on nhs and could not have had any beter .I have also had alternate therapies councilling sessions and support groups and even very sympathetic wig consultations ,headstrong sessions and look good feel better make-up sessions all free on the Nhs and i know some private patients ( friend of mine had to pay for her wigs etc ) so iam very very pleased with my oncology team and was treated at a centre of excellence for breast care. ( so just some things to think about )xxJulie
Excellent news - it does look as though it’s a cyst, so a huge relief.
I’m not knocking the NHS and I knew I would receive excellent care with them as our local team are great (and it was the same surgeon, whether I went NHS or Private).
The only reason I did it was because it brough the op forward by two weeks and then later it brought the staging scans forward by two weeks. I didn’t really care that the surgeon told me two weeks wouldn’t make any difference to the outcome - the lump wasn’t in HIS breast, was it?!! I have my private cover through work so it’s only cost me the £100 excess. There’s absolutely no way I could have afforded it otherwise.
I must say though, that although I did it for speed, it was rather nice being a private patient for the first time ever, with all the little extras I listed earlier! 
Jane xxx
Laura, fingers crossed you get confirmation that it’s a cyst that can be dealt with easily.
For those with BUPA, if you stay in NHS, they pay you. I was only in one night after mx and was in a ward with 3 other women but because I’d gone NHS, BUPA paid me £300. I had thought private wasn’t worthwhile for just one night; the £300 payment was a lovely surprise.
Hi -went to private mammogram and ultrasound today -they found loads of cysts but also lots of small lumps in the right breast that need to be biopsyed in a certain way ?they said lying on a table with boobs through two hole and then they can get to the lumps -anyone had this? obviously not the results I wanted but I’m trying to think positively ! I’m going on the NHS for this but with the same Doctor! but do have to wait for the appt to come ! I guess I’ve got to learn to be patient! Laura
hi ,i had mine treated with bupa all i can say is i wish gone nhs,they treated same hospital same dr and very kind top notch treatment.the only bonous i got was nice food.
hi my appt is on Thurs 10th on NHS so not long to wait then I believe it will be a week for results to come back! The tiny lumps are calsification-anyone else started like that? Thanks Laura
ive had an MRI scan where your boobs are in like two small cages, no problem with it just laying still for 40 mins in my case was hard. They took 300 pics in my case it was to try and find a tumour as im CUP cancer of unknown primary. They believe it to be breast cancer but will never be sure as they have never found the original tumour.
Hatty -Thanks for your reply ! I know I will have a biopsy at the appt can’t wait for it to be over!Hope you are OK? Laura
Yes, im doing fine thanks. Im sure you will be ok too. Good luck with the biopsy.
had the mammotone biopsy yesterday was extremely painful even with the local anesthetic -took over an hour because they couldn’t leave a clip in there to mark the site -deployed 3 and none worked but they said they did get a good sample of tissue -however the Doc said no worries on leaving in the clip as calsification wide spread and said Grade 7 this was all while I’m still on the table face down and to the other staff -wish I hadn’t heard that! anyways have an appt on 22nd my birthday!! hoping it will be the best present ever and negative!waiting is hell though! Good wishes to all Laura x