I’m new here and never thought I’d find myself using such a forum! I guess you all thought that too. So glad I found you though.
I went to see my GP four weeks ago now because I was feeling very tired and low. It was only when we got to talking about medication that she asked me about breast symptoms. I’d become aware of a visible change under my right arm since last August. I’d ignored it and then dismissed it and I hate going to the doctor anyway unless I really HAVE to. She checked things out and found ‘nodularity’ on the left breast which was fixed. That was quite a surprise and I managed to keep my fears in check for days, thinking I’d be seen quite quickly and I’d know for sure.
But my appointment has just come through for late August. That will bring me up to seven weeks of worrying! I’m 45 and have a pre teenage child to support. The stress is ruining my holiday leave. How do you manage to get through this waiting? I’m finding it so hard to cope.
late August??? That is ridiculous! There is a new government scheme in place for which people should get a referral to the breast clinic within 2 weeks. I’d go back to your GP and ask for a new date. I saw my GP last Thursday and my appt is for next Tuesday.
Lots of love
Claudia
xxx
Wow, you got referred quickly! I’m a trained nurse, but BC just isn’t my area at all. In any case, when it is YOU with the problem, it’s a different matter entirely.
I’ve been a little perplexed by the waiting and managed to phone the appointments clerk who was very kind and gave me the consultant’s secretary’s number. She said I must have been referred as routine. After reading the many posts here I am wondering why. The NICE guidelines seem to suggest any woman over the age of 30 with a lump persisting after a period should be seen as an urgent referral. I’m over 30, have a number of lumps plus a large one under my arm. Due to surgery I’m post menopausal. Maybe it has more to do with hospitals hitting their targets, I don’t know.
My GP is not in till Friday but I’ll leave a message and try to speak to the consultant’s sec also. The thought of this dragging on for another three weeks is horrible.
hi hum, i hope you get an earlier appt , the waiting is the worst, i go bk tomorow and it will be 6weeks 2 days in total and if they do the core tomorow it will be another 7 days
Hummingbird, I can only echo what Claudia has said. I asked my GP for an appointment within two two weeks and got one. It’s worth hassling them.
Big hugs to you. We all know what the worrying is like while you’re waiting and if you can possibly shorten the length of time you have to wait, it’s worth it.
Like you say, it sounds like you fit into the NICE guidlines for a 2 week appointment. I think this waiting stage is awful. Talking with the GP and consultants sec ounds good - if they won’t change it to an urgent, you can always request a cancellation appointment.
Good luck that - I hope you get some move forwad quickly
This morning I plucked up the courage to speak to the consultant’s secretary. I explained that I’d spoken to the appointment office and I requested my appointment be brought forward from the end of the month. I explained that I would have been waiting 7 weeks by then, plus I am increasingly worried about my situation and what my GP had said.
Although the sec listened to me she was very reluctant to move the appointment. She said that they only do as the GP requests. But she did say that they only received the referal on 26 July (the second time I saw my GP) and not 9th July as I’d been told by my GP!
Feeling totally at the mercy of the system now, I said that I’d mention this to my GP but that she wasn’t available today any way. The sec then went away and returned to offer an appt one week earlier. She said that the clinic was very over booked already. It would be impossible to offer an appointment any earlier than then.
It is such a shame that patients can be made to feel that they are being a nuisance, by simply trying to get on top of a very worrying situation. I’ll have to practice being a passive patient before the appointment and be grovellingly grateful that they even bothered to see me at all.
Sorry for being so negative. I’ve just felt so lacking in energy and so tired for months now. This is just making it worse. Still, if I get the letter offering the new appointment, the first hurdle will be over in around 2 weeks from now.
Like the other ladies have said, you have to be referred within a 2 week period! This is set by the goverment!
Any secretaires are trained to fend you off, I would go and see citizens advice to see where you stand on your rights!
I went to see my doctor and was amazed how quickly I was seen (from initial doctors appointment on the Monday I was called on the Monday afternoon by the hospital and being seen by a Consultant on the Friday same week) I mentioned to the nurse how quick it had been and she told me about the 2 week rule - so I would def do something about your situation.
Hummingbird. be a nuisance! Do whatever it takes; this is YOUR life and you deserve better treatment. Dagnabbit, I’m sick of hearing these stories about people with genuine worries being ffobbed off. In the meantime, still loads of bukets of love and support coming your way. We’re on your side, sweetie!
OMG… thats really really bad, 7 weeks!! What a joke.
I got my appnt yesterday for the 25th Sep which is just over 6 weeks off, not acceptable to me. I called and the appnts lady offered me a new appnt for the 21st Aug, which was great.
Just wondered, is this 2 week rule nationwide or is it restricted to certain areas?? Because if its nationwide, soneone seriuosly needs to take a long hard look at things within our government because its obviously not being kept to!
I would be inclined to complain in every which way I could, how can they treat you like this?
The 2 week rule only applies if the GP has marked the request urgent. Routine referals do not have to be seen within any time limit.
The NICE guidelines recommend which patients should be referred urgently but the decision comes down to the referring clinician and secretaries cannot change this.
My advice would be to contact your GP and ask him to fast track your referal.
Jakey
No. Some GP’s refer all their patients urgently as a matter of routine.
Even with urgent referrals 9 out of 10 cases turn out to be benign as GP’s are not experts in breast disease.
The speed of your referral could even be down to the clinic having had a cancellation, try not to read too much into it.
Jakey
Goodness, its awful how long some of you have had to wait. Hummingbird, I agree with all the other comments, make a fuss and don’t take any negative responses. From my first appt with the GP, all the hospital tests and biopsies through to surgery everything was completed within 10 weeks. To have wait almost this long to get a referral appt is totally unacceptable. How can the doctors tell us all to go and get things checked immediately we notice anything wrong only then to have wait for ages to be seen, this all adds to the worry and makes the situation twice as bad. Do what you can Hummingbird, hugs for you.
Thanks everyone for your supportive comments. I must say, before this all happened, I had no idea about the NICE guidelines. Since then, I have read up quite a lot. It does seem to me that the system is in need of an overhaul. Shortly after I first saw my GP, the BMJ published an article saying that women referred through the rapid access system were less likely to have a sinister diagnosis. Those sent via the routine route on the other hand had more than a one in four chance of having a malignant condition. Topsy turvey or what!
The article also said that with so many women being seen earlier, those in the routine line were being seen later and later.
I left a message for my GP to ring me today. Not sure if I’m being over anxious now but I thought I could feel a lump under my left arm too! Does that happen? Can you get lumps on both sides?
Anyway, my GP didn’t ring. After having a rotten few days I have done a lot of talking to myself and have created an emotional shield of armour so that I can get through the immediate future while I wait. It has helped such a lot having this forum to come to. Thanks so much for being there.
