Ovarian reserve testing + Letter to ex GP

1st of December, 2016

To [removed by moderator],

I am writing you this letter today as I was a patient of yours previously and concerned that you missed something vital due to my age.

I first came in to see you concerned that I was having discharge from one nipple early 2013. I saw you multiple times over the space of a year regarding this issue.

An ultrasound was done with the verdict of ‘looks like a blocked duct’. A swab was taken of the discharge and possibly a blood test which I don’t recall if there were any results from.  I was advised to stop taking the pill as I may have been on it for too long and it was essentially dismissed.

On one of these appointments I mentioned that I was newly married and you asked if we would be starting a family soon.  You mentioned my age and that we shouldn’t wait too long and even went as far as giving me an injection that women need before trying to conceive! This defiantly blindsided me when I had gone in to discuss my boob!

I knew something wasn’t right and persisted in coming in regarding this issue and finally saw another doctor at the clinic.  This doctor thankfully referred me to a specialist though this was a ‘non urgent’ referral which I had to wait 3 months for the next appointment.  Dr [removed by moderator] thought most likely I had a papilloma but referred me to have another ultrasound and biopsy taken.

I was 34 years old when I got the breast cancer diagnosis.

At this point one and a half years had passed since I first visited you with concerns. 

I got lucky in the sense that it was primary, grade 1 & 2 with no lymph node involvement.  It terrifies me to think where I would be now had my cancer been faster growing. 

I am concerned that other ladies in the same situation may be overlooked as breast cancer being a possibility due to their age and these concerns have been confirmed after joining a ‘young’ ladies cancer support group.  In this group sadly it is a common story of being misdiagnosed or having to repeatedly visit multiple doctors before being referred to a specialist all due to being ‘too young for breast cancer’

The numbers of younger breast cancer patients is growing rapidly and we even have members in our support group barely in their 20’s.

It has been a long time since I saw you last so please feel free to read through my file.

Luckily I trusted my instincts and persisted to get answers when other people may have just been happy with the ‘blocked duct’ explanation and left it too late. 

Please do not eliminate this possibility with any future patients (including men!) as time is a very important factor.  A delay in diagnosis can literally cost someone their life.

Regards

Karen