Living abroad had biopsy, system here not great

Hi, not sure if it’s OK to post because I’m not living in the Uk at the moment…don’t want you to think I’m one of those health tourists you read about in the papers! I had a biopsy 2 days ago & have to wait 2 weeks for result. It was scary because I am not confident in the language here & felt like a piece of meat. Nothing was explained except phone us in 2 weeks for your result. I came home & Googled the name I found on the payment receipt for my procedure. It said VACORA. i think I understand what they did now and what calcifications are. There isn’t a contact number to ask them about my queries. Would you mind if I ask you?

 

  1. I took off the dressing today which was very itchy. Red raised welts where the adhesive tapes were & 10cm away from the puncture wound a 1 cm raised blister full of fluid. I’m assuming this is just an allergic reaction to the adhesive? The puncture wound started to bleed so i put a plaster on it. Is that Ok?

 

  1. I went for the biopsy because they said calcifications had changed since my original mammogram where they were present. They forgot to recall me after that initial mammogram so I called them

 I shouldn’t have left it but I didn’t know anything suspicious was on the original mammogram. I had the 2nd mammogram done the day before I went back to England to see my son. They called me while I was in England to come back to see the doctor but I had to wait 2 weeks before I flew back, saw the doctor the next day & he wanted a biopsy the very next day. I’m panicking that it must therefore be serious. They wouldn’t answer my questions then or at the biopsy. I’m now feeling I won’t trust the result they give me good or bad. i was seen at a "government"hospital but I still had to pay because it’s means tested. I have private medical insurance here but it doesn’t cover everything and I know it’s a bit unprofessional here & twice already I’ve paid for unecessary procedures not realising at the time. So you can understand why I feel like I don’t trust them!! I have tried to educate myself using the internet but still feeling unclear.

 

  1. sooooo is it possible to come back to England for a private appointment to sort this out? Can you recommend anyone & roughly what might it cost? I’m not entitled to NHS treatment any more because I’m living (in the EU) abroad. I don’t want to say where i am cos this place is so small I don’t want people to know. The irony is we had planned to go home to England this year but the financial crisis meant we can’t sell our house so we are stuck here. I’m 58 BTW. I’m trying hard to be calm. People say waiting for the results is the worse part but I feel getting the results will be the worst part because I won’t know if i can trust them. This makes me sound paranoid, doesn’t it!!!

Thanks

Hello Cog

Welcome to the forums, this must be a very difficult time for you.  I’m sure the users of the site will be along to support you soon.

With regards to your questions on treatment in the UK I will refer your post to the appropriate department on Monday to see if we have answers for you.

With best wishes

June, moderator

Hello, 

 

I’m really sorry that as well as the worry of the tests and getting the results, you also haven’t got confidence in the system where you are. Waiting is really hard as it is without extra worries. I’m afraid I don’t know anything about private costs but I know there’s some info the CRUK website which can be found here cancerresearchuk.org/cancer-help/coping-with-cancer/coping-practically/overseas/getting-private-treatment Hope it’s ok to post a link on here? Anyway, it might give you somewhere to start. Might be best to contact a specialist and ask for costs?

 

Wishing you all the best. Emily x

Hi Cog

 

I’ve also found this link on the Macmillans website which might have some appropriate information for you.

 

macmillan.org.uk/Cancerinformation/Cancertreatment/Gettingtreatment/Overseasvisitors.aspx

 

Best Wishes

 

poemsgalore xx

Couldn’t stand the wait any longer after 2 weeks. Called the hospital. They said I had been given the wrong info. It is a 3 week wait & even then the doctor’s office will only call to arrange an appointment for up to a week later. If only they had told me it would be a month of waiting I would have paced myself a little better.

 

Now I’m wondering, If the result is not good, will this one month of waiting allow the cancer to grow. I was already a year late going for my normal mammogram because i fell out of their recall system…