View Full Version : 7 weeks until referral appointment! i could be dead by then!!
OMG i have had a big shock into the SHAM of the NHS!
I have not been referred to hospital to see a consultant for a very long time (since I was a child).
Today i have had my letter for the choose and book for haematology for my swollen lymph nodes since May. 2/3 hospitals have NO appointments whatsoever, so I only have 1 option which is the hospital I didn't want to go to!
The next appointment is 30th August! I can't believe it! I understand suspected cancer cases get urgent 2 weeks but you'd think there would be other priorities too! WHAT IF the GP is wrong and I do have cancer? The cancer will have spread loads between May and August!!
OMG has anyone else ever had this predicament? How did you cope with the wait?
Having a very large glass of red wine!!!!!
Have you had blood tests? If so, that will have given them a good idea about how urgent it is.
If gp thought it was urgent, you'd be booked in quicker than that.
Have you had blood tests? If so, that will have given them a good idea about how urgent it is.
Yes two rounds of blood showing elevated bilirubin and high iron. They just shrug their shoulders at that!
The NICE guidelines state anyone with swollen glands should be referred urgently to be seen within 2 weeks! I told my GP this and he said mine were not big enough!
I just don't see how blood tests can be that accurate??
God i wish i had bupa
Thats good then, if your doc said yours arnt big enough to concern him.
almamatters
15-07-13, 20:45
I waited 8 weeks to see a consultant when a lump was found on my liver. I thought it was most likely liver cancer and by then it would have spread etc etc. The reason for my non urgent referral was because my blood tests were normal and I think this is what a lot of it is based on. Your GP would have rushed it through if he/she was worried , they do not mess about if they think something sinister is going on. This is my experience anyway.
AuntieMoosie
15-07-13, 22:21
Darren the reason that you've got to wait is because your doctor doesn't think it's warrants an urgent appointment otherwise they would have arranged that, so that's good news isn't it?? :)
Darren I'm sure that if you had a serious illness like cancer, your blood results would have shown something to be very wrong.
Glands can be swollen for a few reasons, mainly it's because you have an infection somewhere, I suspect too, that our glands are very individual with some of us having pretty sensitive one's and some not. The glands in my neck often enlarge a little and feel a little sore and most of the time, I have no idea why, but they always go back down within a day or two :)
Appointments with consultants have to be, and rightly so, prioritised, with urgent cases being put first, otherwise the system would be completely chaotic, so there are probably other people in your area who's doctors are concerned and who, therefore need to be seen more quickly. We have a very fair system in our NHS and it usually works well and I'm pleased that it does :)
Darren you have to try and trust your doctor, I'm sure they know how the system works and I'm sure they know whether or not you require an urgent appointment, remember things that you read on the internet are usually not the whole story and your doctor will know which other things have to be taken into consideration, it would have reassured me if my doctor wasn't that concerned :)
I'll add too, that an appointment on August 30th doesn't seem that long to me, it's only the end of next month you know, some people are having to wait several months for an appointment depending on which area you live and which consultant you need to see, so I think yours is a pretty good result to be honest :)
Blood tests are accurate - and if they aren't, what is going to be more accurate?
I can feel around 6 nodes in my neck, one on my back shoulder blade, also in my groin.
All my blood work is perfect besides high liver enzymes which is probably due too my gb removal or something. Drs in the past have said the nodes are insignificant because they're not bigger then a cm or growing. I've had them for 5 years and I do get paranoid sometimes but I need too trust my dr I guess.
When I was a teenager I rushed to the doctor with lumps in my neck which were investigated and pronounced to be 'concretions' due to lots of ear infections. I'm almost 53 now, and they are still there...
unsure_about_this
16-07-13, 08:35
Darren
I am no doctor and don't want to cause arguments on the forums. I am sure like everybody has said you would be referred quicker if something was wrong with your blood test result, I am sure your GP/doctor would refer you to hospital for further tests and seeing a consultant. As for the hospital it may be weeks or months until your get another appointment to see a consultant.
I sometimes wish I was in BUPA as I have got bad health anxiety and worry a lot about my health.
I been told I have IBS but wanted to be reassurance that it was not anything serious, even though the doctor refer me to an ultrasound first before seeing a consultant. I even had a blood test before being referred. all my tests can be fine and showed me nothing was wrong.
IBS can feel extremely worrying. There is a great statistic somewhere about how very very rare it is for someone with IBS to get bowel cancer. They are really good at diagnosing IBS so I am sure you are fine.
I know i should trust the doctor everybody but i guess its my anxiety making me not - fearing I will be one of those dailymail articles!
i have always had a problem trusting doctors and test results, i had an hiv test twice in a month because i thought there was an error a few years ago!
Forget the DM articles, they are a very unreliable source of health information, written specifcally to make people worry. As for your referral - relax, I'm pretty certain you won't be dead by then. Well unless you start base jumping or something anytime soon...:D Highly unlikely you have any blood cancer, but wait for the referral to come through.
Forget the DM articles, they are a very unreliable source of health information, written specifcally to make people worry. As for your referral - relax, I'm pretty certain you won't be dead by then. Well unless you start base jumping or something anytime soon...:D Highly unlikely you have any blood cancer, but wait for the referral to come through.
I'm not really concerned about blood cancer now - I do think it would be more obvious. I'm most concerned about mets to my neck/underarm glands from unknown primary! My doctor said there is 0 chance of that, but im not so sure. Would I wake up suddenly one morning with a stiff neck??
No chance, you would be really sick and your bloods would have been all over the place. Stiff neck? Usually from sleep positions, I have one every morning these days because I move a lot in my sleep.
I wake up with a stiff neck most mornings and it's never occurred to me to worry. Other than about whether I need new pillows/mattress/bed.
No chance, you would be really sick and your bloods would have been all over the place. Stiff neck? Usually from sleep positions, I have one every morning these days because I move a lot in my sleep.
I have it in my head that cancer is a silent killer and you're lucky to get the red flag symptoms. For some reason I don't believe that blood results are any use but thats probably my lack of understanding of them.
Well the mechanisms by which cancer spread are certainly not silent, nor are the body's reactions to inflammation, tumours, or various other threats like non-self cells and genetic damage (which is really what cancer is).
Well the mechanisms by which cancer spread are certainly not silent, nor are the body's reactions to inflammation, tumours, or various other threats like non-self cells and genetic damage (which is really what cancer is).
thanks joel, i find some comfort in what you are saying. My crp was undetectable so no signs of inflammation! feeling a bit better today as the pains in my ribs are not so obvious, especially if i take my mind off of them.
thanks joel, i find some comfort in what you are saying. My crp was undetectable so no signs of inflammation! feeling a bit better today as the pains in my ribs are not so obvious, especially if i take my mind off of them.
Glad to hear it.:)
Powered by vBulletin® Version 4.2.5 Copyright © 2024 vBulletin Solutions Inc. All rights reserved.