Hi I was diagnosed 4 weeks ago haven't had my biopsy yet...that's next Thursday 16/12. Listening to the Podcast is stressing me out because Charlotte was diagnosed and had surgery within 2 weeks whereas I haven't even had my cancer categorised in 4 weeks. Is this normal? Should I stick with the Alfred Hospital or go to Peter Mac? Everyone around me is saying things like "gee they're taking their time," or "it should be faster than that" but should it be? Is the time lag pretty standard? Their stress is stressing ME out lol I don't have private insurance so going the public route. Glad I found this community. Any advice appreciated.

I was sore too @Nattyv63. I had 2 lumps in right breast, so 6 needles in there, and one in left breast, so 3 in there. I had ice packs on afterwards and was still very sore and very bruised. Leftie was mostly ok, but rightie was still bruised up until the mastectomies a month later. Being multifocal and bilateral, google told me it was not good. It ended up being a low grade and stage 1. Before surgery, the doctor even thought it was DCIS and that I wouldn’t need radiation or chemo. So, stay off google!! You won’t know much til results come back, and you have surgery if it’s positive. The reality will never be worse than what your mind can imagine on its own. You’re in the worst part, where you’re scared and lost. From here, it gets easier. Keep doing things that bring you joy and make you happy. Don’t let this get in the way of your life.

@AllyJay I had a similar experience where I wouldn't budge nor go away. I was in the hospital for the "education session" for my chemo to commence the next week, but earlier that morning one of my breasts was so hot and inflamed, and I thought I had an infection, so not stressing, I thought I could get it looked at whilst there with the nurse for the education session. She said I don't think we have a doctor that can see you, and said to go to the emergency department. Um, hey, I am in the oncology breast clinic department and you can't get a doctor to look at my breast? Is my surgeon here? I held my ground, wouldn't go, she called the NUM, and the same response go to emergency and wait in line there. No, I said, I won't go, I want to see a doctor, this went on for over nearly two hours. I said I am happy to wait, but I won't leave without seeing a doctor! The nurse even took a look to see the state of my breast, but still wanted me to go down to emergency and line up there, and said it could be a long wait, or even to come back the next day she said. They then finally rang my surgeon who has in his room, and he was happy to see me. Turned out my infection was so bad, that he put me on an extra strong dose of antibiotics, and was quite disgusted they were going to fob me off to emergency to wait to see a doctor there. The nurse and NUM just kept saying we don't have a doctor to see you! I wanted to say should I go to McDonald's to see if there are doctors there! Lol, a hospital without doctors, what a joke. Stay vigilant and stand up for yourself everybody!

Hi @Nattyv63,So sorry to hear that you have had to join our club,I fully understand how you are feeling,but please take a big breath,these things unfortunately take time and of course this is the worst possible time of the year,I went public, but that is here in South Australia, so I have no understanding of the situation or the hospitals in Victoria, there will be other ladies who will respond who will have a better idea, I must admit that 4 weeks between diagnosis and biopsy is a little longer than usual, again, I can only imagine the covid situation is causing the delay, however if you are getting stressed, can you call or go and see your gp asap,and explain the time frame,you dont mention what type of cancer,do you have any information at all as to what is happening,knowledge is power,is Peter Mac private or public, I have heard so many good reports of Peter Mac, if it is public, certainly worth considering,do you have a oncologist yet? so many questions and not many answers at this stage,do you have a McGrath Nurse yet,please look up their website and put in your area and see what pops up or you could just ring the 1800 number there is a McGrath nurse on the telephone support 5 days a week.I know that you will get many responses from other women who will be able to support and encourage you, Sunday is usually a quiet day on the forum,but as soon as I saw your post I thought I would respond and let you know that someone is thinking of you.I do hope that you have a good family support system,bcna has many resources and the other ladies will put these out for you, my cancer is er+ and the information I have may be slightly out of date as its been a few years since diagnosis and everything that follows, please take care and look after yourself, try and fill your time in between now and the 16th,once you have your biopsy everything will then start to follow, but if you are unsure of the hospital as in RPA versus Peter Mac, keep asking questions and then you might have a clearer picture,big hug to you,wendy55

Hi @Nattyv63,Just wanted to say hi and send a virtual hug. The other ladies have all given good advice to you. One day at a time with all this but I agree with others about putting a bit of pressure on to speed things up on that biopsy. Also the podcast. I am a year post my active treatment (surgery, chemo and radium) I listened to the podcast recently. It is probably too early for the podcast for you. Maybe in a few months it might be better. Agree with @FLClover about asking for help. It is no time for being superwoman now. I am super independent but I did accept help because I had to focus on treatment and depending on what you have it all can take months. It can be exhausting physically, emotionally etc so help is needed. I am 59 and I don't work now and I didn't work through treatment either which was good for me. Some people work and are ok but it all depends on how you go and the thing is no 2 breast cancers are the same. All our treatments are tailored just for the individual.I would recommend having someone with you for appointments as there is an overwhelming amount of information to process. Having a support person with you is good in so many ways. It is good to write questions down too so you get answers to what you want to know.People don't mean to stress you out and you wouldn't believe the things people can say during this. Some people or friends are great but others may not be so great during all this. You certainly find out who are real friends and you will not want everyone on this journey with you. Speak up and let people know if something they say is upsetting you and if some people keep upsetting you then consider if youneed that contact at this time. This is definitely a time for boundaries. You must put yourself first. Also speak up to the medical team too. This is your show and you need to be the project manager of your own health. Be kind to yourself. Keep engaging with the breast care nurse and seek counselling if you need it because there is alot to process with this. Best wishes 💐

Thank you everyone for your wise words and advice! I feels nice to have you all “out there!”

Newly diagnosed. Am I being mucked around by the hospital?

52 Replies

Nattyv63
Member
4 years ago

Hi Wendy!
Thanks for responding. I'm 58, single, don't have many friends, and my family live over an hour away. I've always been independent so having to reach out for help is very much outside of my comfort zone. Everyone has their horror stories about various hospitals but the Alfred Hospital is 10 minutes down the road which is handy being alone as I can get there and back quickly in an Uber/taxi. I have been given a Breast Care Nurse at the Alfred who has been quite responsive. Although she did say that she wasn't happy with the wait for my core biopsy but there wasn't anything she could do about it. My surgeon was lovely.
wendy55
Member
4 years ago
Hi @Nattyv63,
So sorry to hear that you have had to join our club,I fully understand how you are feeling,but please take a big breath,
these things unfortunately take time and of course this is the worst possible time of the year,I went public, but that is here in South Australia, so I have no understanding of the situation or the hospitals in Victoria, there will be other ladies who will respond who will have a better idea, I must admit that 4 weeks between diagnosis and biopsy is a little longer than usual, again, I can only imagine the covid situation is causing the delay, however if you are getting stressed, can you call or go and see your gp asap,and explain the time frame,you dont mention what type of cancer,do you have any information at all as to what is happening,knowledge is power,is Peter Mac private or public, I have heard so many good reports of Peter Mac, if it is public, certainly worth considering,do you have a oncologist yet? so many questions and not many answers at this stage,do you have a McGrath Nurse yet,please look up their website and put in your area and see what pops up or you could just ring the 1800 number there is a McGrath nurse on the telephone support 5 days a week.
I know that you will get many responses from other women who will be able to support and encourage you, Sunday is usually a quiet day on the forum,but as soon as I saw your post I thought I would respond and let you know that someone is thinking of you.I do hope that you have a good family support system,bcna has many resources and the other ladies will put these out for you, my cancer is er+ and the information I have may be slightly out of date as its been a few years since diagnosis and everything that follows, please take care and look after yourself, try and fill your time in between now and the 16th,once you have your biopsy everything will then start to follow, but if you are unsure of the hospital as in RPA versus Peter Mac, keep asking questions and then you might have a clearer picture,
big hug to you,
wendy55

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Newly diagnosed. Am I being mucked around by the hospital?

52 Replies

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