my word those radiographer’s are well trained, i have been for my yearly mamo today (3rd year) i thought i will look right into her eyes and will be able to tell if there is any problems (think again lady) they give nowt away, even there body language tells you nothing 000000OOOOOOOOOOH it’s so frustrating, any one got any tips to sus the b*gg*rs out. now i have to go throught that horrible waiting for results, is’nt it awful.
Take care all.
When I was having a biopsy after being called back after a mammogram, I heard my husband gasp. He knew from the consultant’s body language that he had found something bad. The consultant was surprised by this and said he’d have to watch it in future!
The first ultrasound I ever had on my breast, I was stunned by the fact that it was done in absolute silence. I saw the same guy a couple more times and just before my op he scanned my armpit and said “That all looks clear, that’s good news, I remember the first time I scanned you, I could see it was BC and I was not allowed to say cos you hadnt had the triple diagnosis yet”. It must be difficult for them. Kippy, I hope that things go well for you and you get that good result.
Husbands must be more in tune than we think! During my triple assessment, I was given the all clear by both the mammogram people and the radiologist doing the ultrasound. I then had the fine needle aspiration. My husband noticed that soon after I came out, the doctor who did the FNA went off to the consultant’s room looking worried and glanced over at me on his way back. I was totally oblvious to this and my husband obviously didnt say anything until after we had the bad news, then told me he already had guessed.
I didn’t get off to a very good start. I was originally seen by a Registrar, who after examining me gave me the thing about the lump “probably being a cyst” which I knew it wasn’t as it was solid and rubbery to the touch. When I had the ultrasound, I was told it wasn’t a cyst as it was solid, but “we can’t tell you if it’s serious you know”. Then I was passed to the Consultant in charge of the clinic who did a core biopsy. He didn’t tell me who he was and said “I have to give you an injection into your breast, it will sting like blazes and you’ll be navy blue for a week, but there’s nothing I can do about it”. This was followed up by “I have no idea what I am dealing with here, I need the lab to take 7 days to look at the samples”. TBH I thought he was an arrogant sh1t and by that point I was fed up with throwaway comments. The following week he told me it was a fibroid and I elected to have it removed - 4 weeks later the Consultant told me he had found a cancer. He doesn’t know how close he came to being shoved off his chair…
He was very, very kind towards me after that and saw me again the following week to explain why nothing showed up on my triple assessment. He also asked the breast care nurse to visit me at home as he was concerned he did not have my trust. I had to have my underarm cleared a couple of weeks later and the nurses said they were told to make sure I was well looked after as he was concerned about the unexpected shock he had given me. He also came to the hospital over the weekend to check I was OK.
Funny thing is, I knew there was something wrong when I went to get the dressing taken off the fibroid scar, it was like a woman’s intuition I suppose.
Hi Kippy,
I pride myself in being quite perceptive of people which is the one downfall of forums as it can be hard to judge wether you would take a persons advice on here if you actually saw them face to face.
I knew all along that it was going to be breast cancer from the first instance when i went to my doctor ans she said “i see what you mean” instead of “i,m sure its nothing but”…
Then when i had ny triple ass the registrar after examing me said “i,ll just get the consultant to have a look”,i must admit the radiographer doing mamogram gave nothing away but then i found her to be quite abrupt who didnt seem to like it that i wasnt finding it uncomfortable. Then when i went in for ultrasound the doc said “well i can see the lump and feel the lump” and after he had done it he said that it was a tumour and to come back in 3 days for result of needle test. He said it was 50/50 of it being cancerous.
However when i saw consultant after op before i left hospital he said,“see you in clinic on Frid for results” and winked.
I then tried to think if that was his usual manner which i couldnt remembering it being so i immediately took it to mean good results,which when i got them turned out to be the case,clear margins and no lymph nodes.
I am hoping this perception will help me on Frid when i see onc to see if i can decide what he REALLY thinks is the best plan of action.
Anyway you take care i am sure everything will turn out fine for you its just this damn waiting that we have to endure that is so worring
love Tracey
I don’t know why they can’t just be straightforward, if you had tests for what was causing a cold in the head they wouldn’t go round on eggshells and to me it’s just a disease like any other, one they don’t know enough about it’s true but the way they go on makes me boil as they think they are so much more clever and mature than we are. I am afraid that confirms my view of the medical profession, they think we are mushrooms, so they keep us in the dark and throw shit at at us
Mole
Hi Kippy
When I had an ultrasound 3 years ago the radiographer thought it was a cyst and luckily it was. A year later had another lump and I knew by the nurse’s reaction it was not looking good, she even insisted I had a cup of tea before I went home. Never got offered a cup of tea the f irst time!
Mole,
You raise a very interesting point - why can’t they just come out and say “looks like cancer”. One of the reasons people get so het up about it is because the diagnosis of cancer is shrowded in secrec so of course, they are going to think the worse. If everyone was more matter of fact about it, then maybe there would be less anxiety all round. My guess is they dont want a barrage of questions at the xray stage so pass the buck to the doctor and perhaps knowing the system of hierarchy in the medical profession, they (radiographers) have been told that the doctors deliver the diagnosis. I have found when having a radiologist as opposed to a radiographer do the ultrasounds etc with my son, they are far more blunt and to the point and pull no punches.
Hi All
Well I had the opposite the woman told me it was an abscess so was elated rushed out to tell my daughter in the waiting room, then went to see the consultant who told me it was cancer…
This is weird as I didn’t know they weren’t supposed to say anything as my radiographer said ‘yes there is something there’ and the Dr said ‘even if it is cancer - it is small’. So I knew from the 1st (found at 3 yearly mammo) session that it was probably cancer.
Jo xx
thank you ladychatterbox, i got results today and all seems fine, thats 3 years now, glad the waiting is over what a night mare, must say i am lucky to have a wonderful B.C Nurse.
Take care X
Sometimes they simply don’t know for sure until they’ve had a good read of the scans or x rays. I have a CT every three months and the radiologist tells me what her initial impressions are(I have several tumours in my neck and chest wall which get measured each scan…but she’s also looking for spread in other organs.) I find each scan more nerve wracking than the last (nearly wet myelf just thinkign about the next one in a couple of weeks)and last time nearly asked her not to tell me…but then I thought I would like to be told cause if she didn’t tell me then I’d imagine the worse. She always qualifies what she tells me with…'but I need to look thorughly at the hundred or so images…'so I worry anyway.
When I had my first ultrasound back in the days of my innocence I had a dirty great 4cm tumour which couldn’t really have been anything but cancer and I couldn’t read the radiologist’s body language at all…I was too convinced it wasn’t cancer cause thats what I’d been told 7 months earlier by one’s of the UK’s not so good doctors.
Jane
I had FNA 1st which ruled out a cyst and then was referred to another hospital for mammo and ultrasound. Had the basic bog standard mammo then got called back into the room and told they wanted magnified images of a particular area - they advise which area it was and this was the area that I had felt the lump… after the magnified mammo I was called to another room for US and the radiologist doing the US talked to me throughout - pointed out various small cysts dotted here and there and explained that cysts being fluid filled show as white but that ‘the lump’ was of concern as this was a solid matter … she concluded that she would have the results reported on and back to my consultant by the Monday (this was the Friday afternoon) and advised me to call to make an appointment at his next clinic … she further advised that the next step would be for the consultant would take cell samples for analysis in the lab.
I found her openness reassuring even thought I knew she was basically telling me that there was a bloody good chance that I had cancer without actually using the words … that was the consultants priveledge.
However - months later when I was sent for a bone scan the woman in charge gave nothing away … very frustrating!
Is the difference perhaps due to the mammos and US being done private and the bone scan being done on the NHS? Do they have different protocols?
Despite hearing my husband gasp during my biopsy, I wasn’t worried. When the doctor said the sample would go to the lab I asked if this was to check that it wasn’t cancer, he replied, “There’s not much doubt about that”. He could obviously tell by what the tissue looked like. That was when my husband said he’d guessed already. So he was happy to tell us without confirmation.
I had an isotope bone scan yesterday. The Radiographer went off to show results to a Consultant. When she returned she told me that my Oncologist would discuss the results with me at my next appointment. I explained that it would not be for over a month following my first chemo. She then told me it was clear, BLESS HER. I do understand why they do this; we all get to know each other in hospital, outpatients etc. and if half were told it was clear and the other half told nothing, it would be very scary
Jilly
I had my mammo and went back to the waiting area for the scan. I sat in a chair that faced the door that led to the mammo rooms and it had glass panels in it, as I sat talking to my sister I happened to look up just as the radiographer who did my mammo was walking up the corridor and I caught her eye. She looked at me with a sympathetic smile and that was the moment I knew it was cancer. It was confirmed a week later.
I had a similar experience.The radiographer said,‘I am almost certain it is nothing,worst possible case a few pre-cancerous cells’.We were waiting ages to see the consultant and while we were waiting the radiographer went in to his room.When she came out she caught my eye and went scarlet and hurried by having previously been very friendly.I had a strong suspicion anyway but the surgeon confirmed that it was cancer a few minutes later.I told him to tell her not to worry as she may have made my wait slightly less terrible!.
Went for mammogram last November and radiographer was lively and chatty. We discussed advances in digital photography which is a bit of a work specialism for me and the hospital’s recently bought new and very high-quality gear. “These images are really good…” she said, and suddenly went very quiet.
I knew at that precise moment I’d get a callback, and when I did it wouldn’t be 'cause of poor imaging. And she knew that I knew…