I’d be interested in opinions regarding my recent experience in a private breast clinic in Cheshire. I have medical cover so I felt I would like to have second opinions on a few things that I felt hadn’t been addressed at my NHS clinic.
I was diagnosed in January 2022. ER/PR+ IDC stage 1 grade 1 with extensive low grade DCIS. I had a mastectomy and I take my hormone blocker’s religiously.
Over the last few years I’ve had a few worries pop up which my NHS clinic never seemed to be worried about. I asked for further scans many times, especially an MRI on my remaining breast because LCIS was found in my mastectomy sample as an incidental finding. My concerns about this making be higher risk for lobular cancer in the future have been completely discredited by my NHS breast clinic.
back in February I had an ultrasound on my remaining breast and a cyst was found with enlarged lymph nodes. I had no follow up.
Jump forward to a month ago. I go to a private clinic and get a mammogram on my remaining, and an ultrasound on my mastectomy side. All fine on the mastectomy side, no sign of recurrence. However there was an area of concern found on my mammogram on remaining side and I had to wait 10 days for comparisons to be done before they told me it was okay. Nobody has told me what was found!
I asked for an MRI - refused. Apparently no clinical need. I asked for another ultrasound - refused, apparently no clinical need. They tell me that a private clinic uses the same assessment procedures as the NHS.
Don’t most of us go privately to get further reassurance and scans that the NHS can’t afford. What’s wrong with wanting reassurance, especially as changes have been noticed and it’s not a burden on the NHS?
Has anyone else experienced the same? I feel I’ve got absolutely nowhere at this clinic, they’ve just caused me more worry.
Are you still having follow up appointments with the NHS clinic ? If so could you request an appointment to discuss the things that are making you feel uneasy see if they can give you any re-assurance ? Could you argue for the MRI on the grounds that the anxiety relating to this is impacting your mental health ?
I’m about to finish in January and this December was my last yearly mammogram on the NHS. I’ll be 5 years post diagnosis in January so I wanted to check out a few things.
Absolutely no chance of an MRI on the NHS, I’ve tried. I don’t really want to go on about it affecting my mental health because I don’t feel that my mental health is compromised, I just want some answers and reassurance going forward.
My consultant at the private clinic is absolutely lovely. He phoned this evening to say he’s going to speak to another radiologist about a referral getting approved for another scan. Apparently even if the surgeons allow these scans, a radiologist can refuse to authorise it. I can’t believe this is the system! How appalling frankly. I understand that everybody can’t be scanned on the NHS without clinical need but this is a private clinic and I’m paying!
Hi, it’s not because they don’t want to scan you or dismiss anyone’s anxiety. It’s because there are risks with any investigation and criteria to undertake investigations is based on pretty strict guidelines and clinical need, not the ability to pay.. Private hospitals work to the same guidelines as the NHS. It is frustrating from.a patient point of view. I have been in your shoes, and still I am really many years later. It’s just something I have to get my head around unless I have a new symptom.
Just to add my thoughts to this debate re scans etc. Radiologists are consultants just like surgeons and oncologists and are experts in the fields of imaging and have the final say on whether to authorise a scan or x-ray etc or not. There is a risk- benefit ratio with every type of medical intervention. An MRI may not be the best imaging technique for the question posed and may not add anything to the information gained from a mammogram, depending on the clinical situation, patient details etc etc. It’s right that we cannot demand any scan we want, we need to accept the expertise of our clinical teams. Scans are very expensive and time- consuming and it would be unethical to agree to offer scans just because we demand them.
In this situation I think the advice offered above is the best- go back to your clinical teams, explain your fears and uncertainties and get them to go through all the information with more clarity in order to put your mind at ease going forward.
The consultant radiologist who read my mammogram is very experienced apparently, a specialist in her field. However, she found an anomaly on my mammogram and hasn’t actually told me what it was.
It was an evening appointment, quite late about 8pm and everything was running an hour behind. I had my mammogram first and was told there was something that needed more evaluation and they would need all my previous images to compare. I was on the bed actually having the ultrasound on my mastectomy side, which was thankfully ok so I asked her to just check the other side and area of concern as I was all gelled up and she refused! She said she didn’t want to do any more imaging until she’d seen my other pictures. Well that was over a week later, so it was a worrying time.
The consultant surgeon was happy for me to have further imaging. He had examined me. Who is a radiologist to refuse this imaging advised by a surgeon? Sorry, I just don’t get it!
I had a symptom, an anomaly on a private mammogram. I had reassurance that MRI wasn’t needed because I’d previously had LCIS. It was explained I needed bloods to check my kidney function first because of the contrast. So, I accepted that and that even MRI is not without risk. To refuse a non invasive scan like a simple ultrasound though that would have given me reassurance there and then is just ridiculous.