Chemo or not chemo

Thank you for sharing - I am having to make similar decisions and seeing medical oncologists next week - thought it would be useful to get at last 2 opinions 

@Julez1958 I had and still having great service throughout my treatment 
i went public originally as i had no option 
i was not sorry. From diagnosis to 1st treatment was 6 weeks. I did get put up on a  level 1 category 
on the other side at the same time in mostly private setting an in-law had an horrific time with her private treatment. And is suffering PTSD badly. Shes now doing public route as a private patient. And is happier than before. 
i think sometimes it is the luck of the draw 
a lot if us get on this roundabout with no knowledge of whats going to happen and how long it should take. And we’re scared as hell and just want this cancer out and gone
the online network has been fantastic for me. I don’t comment a lot but i do read heaps and not just recent posts. Usually find the answers to most  of my queries 
I wish you well in your treatment. 

@Julez1958 not to dispute what you are saying that most breast cancer treatments will be classed as urgent, but that is only after the "clinical staging" which can take 5 weeks to have all the tests lined up and then usually seen as a Category 1, which means they MUST ACT within 30 days. 

Often the initial wait for the medical team meeting to take place after they get the results forwarded from the mammogram/tests is about 7 to 10 days, then from there the appointments for all the tests start happening.  We do have world class doctors, but as my surgeon told me, after I asked why I have to wait so long, this is the public system he said!  

Hi @Della
i had my surgery and radiotherapy in the Private system.
My surgery was 5 weeks after my diagnosis ( mainly because I hit a cold during this time which delayed some scans) and my radiotherapy started 7 weeks after my surgery.
I had a lot of pain and limitation in my arm movement after the surgery so that is why it didn’t start until 7 weeks after the surgery.
My radiation oncologist was not concerned about that wait.
As to whether you get better service in the public or private , many ladies on here have had excellent experiences in the public system and we have world class Doctors.
The main benefits of going private are you can choose your Doctor and there is generally less waiting ( although with breast cancer most treatments will be classed as urgent so wait times should not be long , not like say ,a hip replacement).
And going Private does not guarantee there will not ever be a bad experience.

Thank you @Afraser for your advise, will ask this at my next appointment.

many thanks,

Thank you @Keeping_positive1 for the support.  Hope all these process and waiting time become past memory quickly. This is the first time I am dealing with public hospital , i like the technology they have, not sure whether private also has this kind of advance technology or not.

they also organise for another surgery, my ovaries need to be removed
this surgery will be done by another public hospital. I am still worry the time delay experience that may happen. I am thinking of private hospital instead but still looking for the doctor- gynaecologist.

  I am expecting they can do keyhole surgery instead of open surgery. 

@Della
An early cancer can be missed, that is true, which was the case with Kylie Minogue. But yours has not been missed. You certainly should be pursuing why particular treatments have not occurred. You should have a pathology report post surgery, particularly if there are any uncertainties. 

Hi @Afraser thank you for the advise. I dont like the timing. The breast care nurse only advise to wait which is Make me feel anxious. One of the breast care even gives the wrong answer related my query. She said i dont have the schedule for CT scanning/planning yet but actually I have done the CT scanning.....
it seems that they have so many patients and cant expect them to know each of the patient’s case

for the surgery, still has curiosity on one lump that still hanging there with no decision. 

I went private for my surgery. I waited a month from my first appointment to the surgery. I might’ve waited longer if I hadn’t expressed my concerns to the practice manager. They did think I had DCIS though, and it was low grade. 

@Della I sympathise with you on the waiting in the public hospital system.  I went to a major public hospital that has a really good reputation and an outstanding oncology ward with lots of research going on.  Despite that I waited 2 months for surgery from diagnosis and being Stage 3 on diagnosis.  It was all the clinical staging that took so long, and all the appointments were drawn out, I was in the hospital at least 2 times a week for all the tests they lined up for me, that went on for about 5 weeks, then I was allocated as a Category 1 after that time, and they needed to do surgery within 30 days.  I am sure all the waiting contributed to me ending up with some PTSD.

When I hear of others going through what I went through it really makes me shudder.  I got through it, and you will too, but I do agree that the waiting that occurs in the public hospital system is what many people don't understand until it happens to them.  

Take care, and please try not to stress, you will be OK, and just know that the wait is to be expected in the public hospital system.  xx