Deep breaths, @Cathymac I know the waiting is tough, but hang in there. The delay between seeing the surgeon and actual surgery may seem like a long time, but it is pretty common. I'm assuming your diagnosis was via a biopsy if you haven't seen a surgeon?
Until you get rid of the lump and they can figure out exactly what is going on, you are in for a rocky ride; it is pointless to speculate until you get through that first op and the pathology results come back. Once you know for sure what you are dealing with it will be time to make decisions about what you do going forward. I had chemo before surgery as I wanted an immediate reconstruction and my cancer was advanced and aggressive. It was more important to attack the systemic issue in my case than it was to address the poor margins of my lumpectomy. Everyone is different.
It's small comfort, I know, but the couple of weeks wait will not make a huge difference in the long run however,in my opinion, it is worth avoiding being in hospital over the festive season if you possibly can, so getting in early makes sense. The cancer has probably been brewing along for some time, and while you can imagine it growing once you know about it, things wont get significantly worse if your surgery is delayed for a few days. Pick you surgeon carefully; you'll be having a long term relationship with them, so don't rush just because you are stressed.
