Breast care

Okay, I need a little vent... so here goes.

I found a lump in my breast last summer (on my birthday none the less--July 1st, 2006) and it scared the hell out of me! I was only 22 and it was a rather big lump.  So, I got my doctor to write a urgent referall and got an appointment to get a biopsy done.  I had the biopsy (Sept 2006) and they said it was benign and was what is called a Fibroadenoma... even though it was benign at this stage, they said they would need to moniter it and have another appointment in 9 months to test it again (June 2007) so they scheduled me an appointment for June '07.

May 2007 rolls around and I get a letter in the post saying that my appointment has been cancelled but they will send me a letter with the new appointment shortly.  I phoned yesterday and was told they had not made me a new appointment and the lady on the phone made me one... but the soonest I could get in to see the specialist was April 10, 2008!!!!! Chorely hospital has no appointments free in the breast care centre until then.  They cancelled my appointment, not me (because one of the doctors was on holiday) and I have to wait almost a year from when my original appointment was to have another one!

I know Im probably a worry wort about this lump.. but on the off chance it does turn into something cancerous.... It wont be caught over a year and half since it was originally tested and could do some damage in that time. :-( They said they needed to monitor it.. but they cant monitor it correctly because theres just not enough NHS doctors to dealing in Breast care. My local hospital doesnt even have a breast care clinic.. we have to drive to another hospital in Chorley for my appointment.

The NHS has been wonderful for other things... such as when i had a suspicious mole removed on my back, I got in right away.  I know I may get some back-lash from those of you who praise and love the NHS, however, if you put yourself in my shoes.. walking around with this lump in my breast (about the size of a marble) just crossing your fingers and hoping it doesnt turn cancerous until I can get an appointment in April 2008... i hope you would understand.

Sorry for the vent... Im just worrying alot because breast cancer does run in my family and i have seen my 2 great-grandmothers die from it when i was very young.

I'd suggest you save up and have it looked at privately. A consult will run you about 70-120 quid and the pathology another 200 I'd guess (I can find out better ball park figures if you want). I couldn't wait around that long!

Can you get your GP to try to get you an urgent appointment?  Especially if there is a history of breast cancer in the family?

I certainly wouldn't take this lying down - it's not right that they put you at the back of the queue because they had to cancel.

Vicky

Oh Chrissy, that is shocking!  No way should you have to wait that long.

My mother found a lump in April 2006 and by May 2007 she had been diagnosed with breast cancer.  In total she had a 3 week wait from finding the lump to being diagnosed.  She found that 3 weeks unbearable, i can't imagine how she would have been if she'd had a wait even 1 day longer!

You have my sympathy, that was a totally justified rant!  I think the NHS is fantastic...but only when it works!!!

Fingers crossed that it's nothing to worry about and you'll be absolutely fine but i totally agree that you should invest in going private...it'll be worth every penny

Take care
caroline

Can you get your GP to try to get you an urgent appointment?  Especially if there is a history of breast cancer in the family?

I certainly wouldn't take this lying down - it's not right that they put you at the back of the queue because they had to cancel.

Vicky

Thanks for your advice Vicky. I've just called my GP and made an appointment to sit down and have a chat to her about this.  Hopefully she can help. 

I hope your appointment goes well. I have found that with some things you have to really be direct so they are more likely to help. Otherwise, you might want to do the private route; my husband and I have Healthsure, which is an insurance policy that means we can get coverage for some things based on how much we are putting into per month, which is around £20 (for example, my £20/session acupuncture sessions were covered with this insurance). (I am crap at describing financial things, you will have to excuse me.) Good luck with things.

I'd suggest you save up and have it looked at privately. A consult will run you about 70-120 quid and the pathology another 200 I'd guess (I can find out better ball park figures if you want). I couldn't wait around that long!

If you know ball-park figures that would be great.  If the GP cant help, going private is my only option because I really cant wait til April '08.  I have a small amount of savings that could cover it which was being put aside for Christmas in NY w/ my family... but i realize my health is more important.... I'll let you know what the GP says

I'm a bit confused. Fibroadenomas are not cancer and they won't turn into cancer. They are benign. It might get bigger, but there is no increased risk for malignancy. If you had a biopsy with a benign diagnosis, I don't see why they want to "monitor" it.

I would def see your GP and ask them exactly what they are "monitoring". 

They aren't cancerous, there is some evidence that they can hide lumps later in life, but they don't turn cancerous. 

I had to have a lump checked last year, I needed ultrasound guided biopsy.  I was here on Bunac so I went with a BUPA hospital in town.

All told the appointment, testing and follow up was about 1,100 pounds.  That seems to be about the same all over.

 I had to have a core needle biopsy and only had a local.  It would depend, of course, on what type of biopsy you needed and how many samples needed to be taken. 

This site had good advice, but don't let it freak you out.  www.breastcancer.org

If I were you I would call around and maybe get into a breast clinic in a different city. Even if you had to drive an hour it would be worth it!

I'm a bit confused. Fibroadenomas are not cancer and they won't turn into cancer. They are benign. It might get bigger, but there is no increased risk for malignancy. If you had a biopsy with a benign diagnosis, I don't see why they want to "monitor" it.

I would def see your GP and ask them exactly what they are "monitoring". 

Im not sure why they are 'monitoring it'... but I dont think they would waste anyones time with making a follow up appointment if there wasnt something to follow up. Im just following doctors orders. I had a biopsy and ultrasound on it in sept. I'll let you all know what my GP says... im seeing her next week.

Has anyone else thats had one of these needed a follow up appointment??

Thank for the info bookgrl

wow, crazy..  im in preston too and will be going to my gp within the next week to get a referral to chorley hospital because i have a lump also.  absolutely ridiculous that the waiting list is a year long!!  when you had your initial referral for your biopsy, how long did it take you to get seen in chorley?

best of luck speaking with your gp.

wow, crazy..  im in preston too and will be going to my gp within the next week to get a referral to chorley hospital because i have a lump also.  absolutely ridiculous that the waiting list is a year long!!  when you had your initial referral for your biopsy, how long did it take you to get seen in chorley?

best of luck speaking with your gp.

Hi Karen,
I found the lump in the beginning of July 2006 and my doctor put in an urgent referral and I was seen in mid-September 2006.  So the queue shouldent be a year long.. I was just put in the back of it this time because I didnt have an urgent referral.. which im hoping my doctor will give me when i see her next week and hopefully i can get an earlier appointment.
Take care,
Chrissy

This is very interesting, I have had a very very very different experience on the NHS with breast care, where I live, this is handled in a very efficient manner.

I found a lump in my breast 2 weeks before I was due to go to a Family History study at the Nightengale Centre at Withington Hospital in Manchester, my GP suggested that I wait until I go tot his Family History Clinic to discuss it. Otherwise, she would have sent me to the clinic herself. I went to the clinic, within an hour I had a mammogram, a sonogram, and a needle biopsy. The surgeon that I saw (within minutes) told me that he would be treating me very aggresively and until he heard otherwise, he was going to be treating this as if it was cancer. The next day the surgeon rang me at work and told me himself that he was going to send me for an MRI, which I had a week later, after the MRI and all the results came in as it being a Fibroadenoma and I had a date for surgery the next day. In whole, from diagnosis to removal, the time was 2 weeks.

I can not understand how your doctor is not rushing you through. I thought that Breast Care was a PRIORITY for the NHS. I am INCREDULOUS at your story. I think you need to speak to your GP urgently (I find crying for the GP often helps) and demand that they refer you to get this removed asap. I am sorry you are having to go through this. Please call the Nightingale Centre in Manchester and ask for their advice. They are a wonderful resource and (I believe) one of the best centres for Breast Care in the country (this isn't a statistic, its just from my experience and what I hear from others who have been there) They are a wonderful support.

The Nightingale Centre was opened in January 1990 to house the Greater Manchester Breast Screening Service and provide a National Training Centre of breast cancer screening for Radiologists, Radiographers and Administration staff.

In more recent years, the Centre has enlarged to cover all new and review breast out patient clinics, the Family History Clinic, which is the largest in the U.K. together with various clinical trials and research projects.

Contact details are provided below for your information:

Screening Appointments - 0161 448 0456
G.P. Referrals for New Patients - 0161 291 5110
Queries regarding review patient appointments - 0161 291 5210
Specialist Breast Care Nursing Department - 0161 611 3113
Queries regarding Family History Clinic - 0161 611 4223

Directions: The Nightingale Centre is situated on Nell Lane just off the A556 Princess Parkway. There is disabled parking directly outside the building with the main visitors car park approximately 100 yards away.

I'm very sorry, but I have to disagree. If the original biopsy definitively showed a non-cancerous fibroadenoma, then there is no need to have it removed unless the GP feels that it might obscure something in future screenings.

The OP is in her 20's. Fibroadenomas are common in this age group. They are not, and will not "turn into cancer". Whilst I can see that with her family history they will probably want to keep an eye on her for other potential breast changes, there is no reason to freak out about this one. I do think that patients need to do their homework and be firm with GP's about what they want, but turning on false tears and insisting on potentially unecessary procedures seems very OTT to me.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fibroadenoma