Disappointed, crushed, depression setting in!

@Trinny Im sorry to hear of whats happening, as if the diagnosis isnt hard enough to deal with , you have to navigate the rest. So you're in public it sounds like? Yes in public you are not guaranteed any Surgeon unfortunately. You mentioned Plastic Surgeon as well? are they also through public or private? so are you having an immediate mastectomy/reconstruction? I only ask as I went private for my 2nd diagnosis surgery, I have a private surgeon but he also works in the public system as does my Plastic Surgeon. However, for my 2nd surgery which was a right breast lift and nipple recon, my PS didnt do it and I didnt know til afterwards...his 'Team' did. So if you are wanting a specific surgeon always best to go Private as then you will definitely have them. Just so much to take in! M x

Hi Melclarity
Thanks for replying :)
I began in the public system and chose to stay there as everybody advised it was the best place to be. Both surgeon and nurses first said I would be operated on within a 4 week turn around, then I received the news after already a 5 week wait it would now be another 3 months wait, if my mind wasn't already stressed enough this just tipped me over the edge. I understand the public system but was led to believe I would go through this journey smoothly.  I am having a mastectomy with expander and later an implant, so yes reconstructive. Mentally I couldn't do a mastectomy without reconstruction as have read about others not having this choice later down the track due to scar tissue etc.
Im lucky enough to have private health cover and would have gone private to begin with if I had been told the wait to begin with, this was a specific question when this journey began.

If you want a fast surgery date with reconstruction immediately you might have to opt for private cover. You could always switch back to public for any oncology or radiation treatment later. There is also a thing you can do in Qld is to have public for hospital stays but private for your doctors.

@Trinny so sorry you have had such a stressful time, as if the wait isn't bad enough. sending hugs.

Hi Trinny sorry you had to join us.  When i was diagnosed at nambour 2 years ago they didnt do recon on the sunshine coast and i was dead set on immediate recon. The breast nurse at nambour sent urgent referrals to both Rbwh and Mater. She said see which one rings first. First Initial appointment was mater but i also went to rbwh appointment and they ended up having the quickest timeframe.  i went with that . It meant lots of trips into brisbane. By the time i went through the process it was 3 and a half months since diagnosis which had already taken ages due to xmas and new year. Im telling you this to suggest mayb your gp or someone  can give you another referral to a different hospital if ur in an area close to civilisation and ur up for a bit of travel?? You can still keep your place at the existing hospital.  . They all said there is plenty of time with dcis as its not invasive. Mine was all of 7cm and high grade I couldn't help panicking!!! But try to breathe and not panic too much. Keep busy with things you enjoy whilst seeing if theres a way to speed things up. Have you joined the recon group on here. If your ready its a good place to check out some stories from others who have been where u are including mois!!! Hugs. X

Hey Trinny, I think too unless you go private you don't have alot of surety of timeframes at all. I totally understand about the mastectomy, I too couldnt do it unless I had immediate reconstruction. So I did both in public but had a Diep flap recon, as I had radiation at 1st diagnosis so couldnt have implant. I was super happy with that as i like that its soft and warm I admit. x 

It sounds as if you should consider private if you can afford it.  I had private health cover but things were very strained, financially (we were considering ditching the cover just before this happened).  I explained this situation to the surgeon and he took this into consideration when billing so his gap was very small.  The anaesthetists were also understanding and then I had the hospital excess.  I was diagnosed on 5/12/17 and had my first surgery on 21/12/17 - it might have been earlier but I wanted to be able to do some family things.  My cousin got her Breastscreen callback a couple of weeks after me, chose public, and didn't go for surgery until April. Chemo was fully covered as I was treated as an inpatient even though I was only there for a few hours at a time.  I went public for rads as that is not covered.

Thank you all for your input, it is much appreciated. :)
I have sought another opinion in the private sector and so happy to say I am being admitted into hospital today for surgery to take place tomorrow.
Mastectomy with lymph node removal and reconstruction straight to implant, wish me luck :) xxx

Good on you! Best wishes

All the best @Trinny  - fantastic that you've been slotted in so quickly.    

Make hast slowly after you leave hospital - on the drive home, be aware that bumps in the road will hurt your boob - so if you know any specific 'bad spots', grab your boob in advance, to support it thru the bumps!!   Make sure you take your pain meds 'as prescribed' for at least a week .... don't let any pain sneak back in by NOT taking them!  Keep your fluids up to flush the anaesthetic out of your system (it always makes me ill.)  

take care xxx