Very afraid

[Fishmanpa]

As I've said here many times.... It's not cancer until they say it is. I know it's not much solace but it's a mantra among warriors and survivors.

Sending...

Positive thoughts

[Carnation]

Take it one step at a time Fishman.
Of course you'll be able to drive, we always manage to find that inner strength when we need it. x

[fishman65]

Thank you both for your very helpful input. OK we were promised a phone call for this morning but it didn't come so I phoned them at about 4pm. They didn't know of any call back and the waiting time for an appt is 6 to 8 weeks. Yes weeks. So what happened to the 2 week guideline? And this is the 'better' hospital? So a week wasted and we phoned the GP surgery for another referral, hopefully a quicker one this time.

Anxiety today has been on another level. And everything I enjoyed seems pointless somehow.

[Dying_Swan]

Hi Fishman.

I don't have much I can add, but didn't want to just read and run. I found the statistic Carys shared reassuring, about 80% referrals being benign. Waiting around is so difficult, and I hope you and your wife soon get some answers. Wishing you both the best x

[jojo2316]

Thank you both for your very helpful input. OK we were promised a phone call for this morning but it didn't come so I phoned them at about 4pm. They didn't know of any call back and the waiting time for an appt is 6 to 8 weeks. Yes weeks. So what happened to the 2 week guideline? And this is the 'better' hospital? So a week wasted and we phoned the GP surgery for another referral, hopefully a quicker one this time.

Anxiety today has been on another level. And everything I enjoyed seems pointless somehow.

Wait - what?? A six to eight week wait for an urgent referral to a breast clinic? How can this be?

[Buster70]

Hi Fish , sorry to read you are going through a rough time again , you are doing what we both have done time and time again , one of our family isn’t well and our minds have fast forwarded to worst case , death , funeral and how our lives will be without them , but how many times has it not turned out not to be as bad as we thought ? Too bloody many and hopefully this will be the same , I know it’s pretty much impossible to stop your mind running away with itself but the best thing is keep busy and carry on doing what you normally do .
On hospital appointment days ( every other week in our house ) I still carry on the same , walk the dogs , do some bits and bobs until it’s time to go , I take half a diazepam to take the edge off and make sure I’ve eaten and drank something.
You can get through you’ve done it before .
Sorry to hear that you went through it Carys , there is so much we don’t know about people’s struggles on here and what they’ve been through to bring them here , it’s good that you have kept your sense of humour and positivity.
Take care mate .

[Carys]

Yes, how can it be ? Its not usually even that long for a non-urgent referral. That is a disgrace! Did the GP definitely send the referral marked as 'urgent/two week rule'. If she did, and the hospital cite 'volume of referrals and patients', then one would question how on earth they could be so far off the NICE guidelines and be mismanaging their resources.

Anyway, that doesn't help you right now, and it is downright cruel to expect someone to psychologically cope with that timescale, besides having messed up even getting back to you anyway. I am glad to hear you have recontacted the GP, and if they can make no further headway then consider another hospital! If you need further advice then I would highly recommend the helpling at www.breastcancercare.org , which isn't JUST for people with BC as there is a board there for benign conditions and they are there to help anyway at any point in the process of assessement. Sometimes they can come up with some good suggestions and support for those who are having some difficulties with the NHS processes.

[Carys]

Sorry to hear that you went through it Carys , there is so much we don’t know about people’s struggles on here and what they’ve been through to bring them here , it’s good that you have kept your sense of humour and positivity.

Over three years ago now Buster, hardly in my thoughts much to be honest apart from at times of mammograms. Thanks for your kind words though.

[fishman65]

Thank you all, you're such a brilliant bunch of people. Buster yes anxiety paints a wonderful picture of the future doesn't it. I've had visions of the funeral, how will I cope without her? One thing though that really really does scare me is that Mrs F has a set of illnesses as it is. Epilepsy, crohns disease, fibromyalgia, hip problems and a fatty liver with some cirrhosis.

But one step at a time. The anxiety has been a raging monster. I can't believe its been a week since we were referred by the GP, it feels like a 40 years. Oh for private medicine eh? Carys it was sent as urgent, the woman I spoke to said the unit is having 'capacity issues'. PC speak for too many patients? Must get to bed guys. Night all.

[MyNameIsTerry]

I think you should go back to your GP about this. As far as I know, I'm sure Carys can confirm, you have a legal right to a 2 week window if that's what the GP has requested (England only). You waive this right if you choose to ask for a different appointment because you can't make it. There may be a possibility they have made a mistake in thinking this is a rebooking because of the missed call (which is a competence issue at their end, of course) or perhaps the person spoken to didn't notice it was an urgent request.

But 6-8 weeks looks suspiciously like the timescale of the non urgent referrals to NHS depts.

EDIT: Just noticed the 'capacity issues' bit. Well, then it comes down to which patients know their rights and make noise as opposed to those who accept a fob off