Appointment wait
Hi all,
4 weeks ago I went to my doctor with a new area of lumpy tissue that was not normal. I am 31 years of age have no other symptoms and my doctor does not seem concerned at all as she told me so. My mam suffers with breasts cysts a lot and we don’t have breast cancer in the family. A referral letter has been sent but marked as non urgent. I rang the hospital today and because I am non urgent my wait could be a couple of months as the list is getting longer. I am a tad anxious but the what if and unknown is always in the back of my mind. Just wondering has anyone been in the same situation or know how long the waiting list is? I am based in cork. I am thinking of asking the doctor to send the letter privately and I will pay whatever the cost it. Thanks a million
Comments
With Covid impacts the waiting lists seem to have fluctuated greatly across the last year. In September I was seen in Dublin within the recommended time frame, and at the time my GP told me there were no delays.
There is no harm in contacting a private clinic about costs, and if they are within your means, asking your GP to refer you.
I think a mammo can cost 150-200ish. If you have health insurance it may cover some of this.
It might be worth asking your doctor if something inconclusive did show on a mammo that needs further investigating, what wait times you face switching back to public for follow up.
Private follow up such as ultrasound and biopsy would be more money, so good to plan ahead for additional costs or waits.
It is hard not to worry, I hope it turns out to be nothing of concern.
Hi there, just to give some perspective... my friend and I both found breast lumps in September. Not sure if mine was marked as urgent but I had previously had a cyst drained. My doctor advised waiting list would be just as quick with public system but it took about 3/4 weeks. My friends appointment isn’t until 18th of this month in the same hospital.
We both went public.
Unfortunately they couldn’t do my mammogram and ultrasound that day and I had to wait a further 3 wks for those appointments and ended up having a biopsy done that day also.
I started my chemo/ surgery/rt journey yesterday.
They advised me that they were starting extra weekend clinics to try help the backlog off appointments but not sure how the new covid rules are affecting this.
Hope things work out for you!
Hi all, thank you so much for the advice. I have an appointment with a doctor tomorrow and I have asked specifically to be referred to a private clinic for the scan. Thanks so much again for the advice
Hi there
If you wanted peace of mind you could think about paying for a mammogram privately. At least then you would not spend the next few months worrying . There's nothing worse than having something hanging over you like that.
Sarah