Breast cancer
posted by hederahelix
05 July 2021

2 year wait for referral

Last reply: 09 August 2021 21:14

Hi guys

I was referred by my doctor to the breast clinic with a lump on my breast 12 weeks ago. I was put on a 12 week wait period and my doctor received information from the hospital about this.

She gave me a number to call if I hadn't received a letter in a couple of weeks and the lady who answered quite quickly got me off the phone with a solid answer of "you're down for a year, ok? Bye". I'm residing in Waterford at the moment.

I called my doctor and she told me to call again after the 12 week period had ended and I did today. I reached a voicemail of the same lady directing anyone to call another number. Once I called this number I was told that my wait will be up to two years! I asked her if there is any point in me waiting 2 years with this and she said "well it's up to you" and that they wouldn't have any more information about the 12 week period because they are new to taking over the department.

I will be calling my doctor again who said she will see what she can do following this but who knows how this will end. I'm 29 with a history of breast cancer in my family. I can't afford private healthcare as I'm a student who has been receiving grants to support my cost of living here.

Has anyone else been dealing with this conflict? This seems absolutely ludicrous and terrifying for me now to deal with and I can't find too many personal stories about it or how to handle it; all I can find are recent statistics here and there regarding wait times.

I mean, why even bother saying 2 years to me. I will be beyond the point of saviour once that time has come. I can't believe this is going on really. Breast cancer is a common enemy in our female society. How it's not the top priority is beyond me.

Please reach out to me and help me out with some resolutions or personal stories. Thanks so much for reading.

Jade

6 comments

Comments

commented by Jenni53
06 July 2021

06 July 2021 12:40

Hi Jade

I would ask my doctor to say that you need to be seen at the breast clinic urgently especially as there is a history of breast cancer in your family.

Best wishes
Jenni53

commented by hederahelix
07 July 2021

07 July 2021 17:25

I was told to call her on Monday so hopefully she can do something thereafter. I just wondered how many other people are experiencing this and how they're dealing with it. But for now, I have a couple of courses of action myself.

commented by Cancer Nurse
06 July 2021

06 July 2021 14:21

Hi Jade,

Thank you for posting on the Irish Cancer Society Online Community.

I am very sorry to hear about the difficulties which you have had accessing services. You mentioned that you will be contacting your GP again, this is a good idea as your GP might have more luck contacting symptomatic breast check and might have be able to get a more satisfactory outcome and ensure that you are followed up appropriately.

You might find it beneficial to contact one of our nurses on the support line, freephone 1800 200 700, Monday – Friday, 9am – 5pm. We might be able to help you look for solutions to this issue.

We look forward to hearing from you and hope that a solution to this delay can be found.

Kind regards,

Cancer Nurse

commented by hederahelix
07 July 2021

07 July 2021 17:27

Thank you so much for the phone number, I'll be sure to call that if all else fails. Thanks for the support, I appreciate it.

commented by Zdoh
19 July 2021

19 July 2021 20:52

I've been referred to breast clinic also as spots have shown up in my PET Scan been waiting 4 weeks so far, spots also showed up in my live and have had an MRI and back in Thursday. I was expecting a wait for the breast clinic but 2 years is not good enough. How'd you get on?

commented by K
09 August 2021

09 August 2021 21:14

Sorry to hear about that. Could you get your GP to send a strong referral letter? I had to go abroad to get diagnosed and only got into Waterford hospital after a strong GP letter despite having confirmed cancer. Keep pushing through an GP or try to get a referral to another hospital. Best of luck.

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