Wow--Have to wait months for possible cancer to be checked

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m sorry you’re getting this response, OP. I know what it feels like to have to wait.

No, it isn’t okay that you have to wait a month. It isn’t okay at all. But as you can see from previous posters, we’ve decided as a society to think it’s acceptable.

I hope you get an earlier appointment.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a suspicious lump. The soonest I can get a second scan and biopsy is in September.

I called another radiology company. They said they can't use the film from the first company and they are scheduling 5-8 weeks out just for a diagnostic test.

Anyone else in a similar boat? This is nuts.

Why is it nuts? You have to wait for your turn. September is only next month.

Agreed. Long wait times are to be expected in private health care.

How else would you know your doctor is any good? The longer the wait, the better the doctor—and America has the best in the world!

Yes, whereas in public health care, wait times are very very long. OP is blessed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why are people being so shtty to OP? Usually this board is better than this.

Yes, it's common to have to wait a couple weeks around here, even for something like a biopsy for a suspicious lump.

No, that kind of wait should not be normal. Things like this should be checked ASAP.

It's totally fine and normal for you to be worried, OP. This stuff can be serious. Anyone making you feel bad for worrying can pound sand. It's probably the same ashole poster who goes around shtting on everyone in every thread.

You should call around every office you can find on Google. I was given a 2 week wait for my lump biopsy, and I was the most anxious I have been in my life. I was able to find another office that had an opening later that same week and went there. They were so nice, and I actually liked the radiologist WAY better than the first one. I would go back to this second office if I ever had to do it again.

You need to define "ASAP" and how providers need to prioritize which one bumps other patients. If I've been waiting 4 weeks and get bumped, is that okay? Don't I have right to know what's making me sick too?

The text you bolded says "Should." It does not imply that OP should bump other people with equal or worse situations. It does not imply you don't have a right to know what's making you sick. Stop your outrage at the idea that OP doesn't want to wait weeks to follow up a suspicious lump and focus it on the fact that our current medical system is so overburdened and nothing is being done to improve it.

Nobody “wants” to wait. Life is tough. Deal with it buttercup.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a suspicious lump. The soonest I can get a second scan and biopsy is in September.

I called another radiology company. They said they can't use the film from the first company and they are scheduling 5-8 weeks out just for a diagnostic test.

Anyone else in a similar boat? This is nuts.

Why is it nuts? You have to wait for your turn. September is only next month.

Agreed. Long wait times are to be expected in private health care.

How else would you know your doctor is any good? The longer the wait, the better the doctor—and America has the best in the world!

You sound dim. No other country in the world has the toxic combination America has of ultra high health costs and crap service.

Then go to other countries. What’s stopping you?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:3-4 weeks is not a bad wait time honestly.

It is if you have a cancer growing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:3-4 weeks is not a bad wait time honestly.

It is if you have a cancer growing.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:“Suspicious” according to whom? If that’s based on a screening mammogram, IME they should be able to get you in sooner. Otherwise, agree with PPs - waiting a few weeks (not months) is pretty standard.

According to the radiologist who wrote the report on my breast MRI film.

OP

Is it an MRI biopsy?

What is the BIRADS (“suspicious” is not how radiologists communicate a biopsy needs to be biopsies)?

I have had them all (and had breast cancer). All of my follow up imaging takes a while to get scheduled, but any time I have needed a biopsy, it gets scheduled within a few days. And then is across health systems.

If you give some more info, I can try to help you.

My biopsy is scheduled 41 days from my MRI.

OP

To answer your question about the suspicious aspect, Birads-4 is described as this by the American Cancer Society: "Suspicious abnormality – Biopsy should be considered."

More:

"The findings in this category can have a wide range of suspicion levels. For this reason, this category is often divided further:

4A: Finding with a low likelihood of being cancer (more than 2% but no more than 10%)

4B: Finding with a moderate likelihood of being cancer (more than 10% but no more than 50%)

4C: Finding with a high likelihood of being cancer (more than 50% but less than 95%), but not as high as Category 5"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:September isn't months away on my calendar...it's just a couple of weeks. Take a chill pill and stop freaking out.

A couple means "two." I'm waiting more than one month.

I think it's sad you guys are so used to the long wait times that you are now defending bad healthcare.

OP

Tell us where in the world you will get in faster. People all over the world fly here because they can get in quicker than in their home country.

Perhaps consider scheduling an appointment in a less densely populated area of the country, but I am sure that suggestion will upset you, too.

Your question does not at all relate to my point that we should have shorter wait times for breast health. If you don't agree and are happy to wait six or nine weeks while your possible cancer grows larger, good for you.

You want to fight, and I will not be engaging in an argument with you.

OP

[Anonymous]

I had an abnormal stool sample (and symptoms that caused my GP to order a stool sample). Found in May. Referred to GI and couldn't get an appointment til mid July. Colonoscopy scheduled for mid September. Active duty Tricare Prime. 4 months to see if I have colon cancer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I had an abnormal stool sample (and symptoms that caused my GP to order a stool sample). Found in May. Referred to GI and couldn't get an appointment til mid July. Colonoscopy scheduled for mid September. Active duty Tricare Prime. 4 months to see if I have colon cancer.

It’s the reality, but that doesn’t mean it’s not upsetting. OP’s concerns don’t reflect entitlement - she has a mass that is suspicious for cancer, and the number of people who have been fighting with her…that’s just a disgrace. Okay, the health system is what it is - others here have had to wait a long time too - but to say she is “blessed” and not offer up even a morsel of compassion, really sucks. People will argue about anything on here.

When I went through BC I found enormous support on the health forum, from biopsy onward. It honestly made a difference. Things must’ve changed around here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I had an abnormal stool sample (and symptoms that caused my GP to order a stool sample). Found in May. Referred to GI and couldn't get an appointment til mid July. Colonoscopy scheduled for mid September. Active duty Tricare Prime. 4 months to see if I have colon cancer.

It’s the reality, but that doesn’t mean it’s not upsetting. OP’s concerns don’t reflect entitlement - she has a mass that is suspicious for cancer, and the number of people who have been fighting with her…that’s just a disgrace. Okay, the health system is what it is - others here have had to wait a long time too - but to say she is “blessed” and not offer up even a morsel of compassion, really sucks. People will argue about anything on here.

When I went through BC I found enormous support on the health forum, from biopsy onward. It honestly made a difference. Things must’ve changed around here.

I'm the poster you're replying to and I meant mine in solidarity and commiseration with OP. Just another example of waiting and worrying and feeling powerless to get in to appointments in a timely manner. It's not ok!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I had an abnormal stool sample (and symptoms that caused my GP to order a stool sample). Found in May. Referred to GI and couldn't get an appointment til mid July. Colonoscopy scheduled for mid September. Active duty Tricare Prime. 4 months to see if I have colon cancer.

And this is the socialized medicine some want for all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I had an abnormal stool sample (and symptoms that caused my GP to order a stool sample). Found in May. Referred to GI and couldn't get an appointment til mid July. Colonoscopy scheduled for mid September. Active duty Tricare Prime. 4 months to see if I have colon cancer.

And this is the socialized medicine some want for all.

It's fine for the poors, but I should be able to pay a small fee to jump to the front of the line. /s

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a suspicious lump. The soonest I can get a second scan and biopsy is in September.

I called another radiology company. They said they can't use the film from the first company and they are scheduling 5-8 weeks out just for a diagnostic test.

Anyone else in a similar boat? This is nuts.

Why is it nuts? You have to wait for your turn. September is only next month.

The point is that this is not acceptable. The fact you think it's normal to wait this long is wild.

It will get worse because fewer people want to be doctors with all the lawsuits and insurance hassles. That said, the countries people romanticize when it comes to healthcare often have waits of many months to even see a specialist let alone get a second scan or biopsy.You are fortunate to have such a short wait, but I understand how scary and frustrating it is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m sorry you’re getting this response, OP. I know what it feels like to have to wait.

No, it isn’t okay that you have to wait a month. It isn’t okay at all. But as you can see from previous posters, we’ve decided as a society to think it’s acceptable.

I hope you get an earlier appointment.

We haven't decided as a society. This has happened over many years of people and it's a combo of things. People have become more entitled and more litigious leading to burnout and leaving. A friend who is an OB said after some ladies magazine article came out women would demand a vaginal birth who needed a C-section and those same women would sue when there were issues during the birth that were the risks explained given their specific issues. While it's good to be informed and question, everyone is a google and Tiktok expert and the whole "demand" culture has lead to people being quite nasty. Also, I remember from when I worked at a doctor's office in college, the same patients who are livid about double booking are the ones with a history of no-show/no-call who also throw a fit when after a warning the doctor decides to charge them. As a society we have pushed nurses, doctors and other health professionals to the brink and then we whine and complain when we cannot be seen right away and get exactly what we want. Stop dehumanizing healthcare professionals and get some perspective.

For OP: as others suggesting, sometimes it's a matter of calling around and being politely and respectfully determined. I have been through this with my own health issues and for my child with medical issues. You do the research and decide where there's a will there's a way. That said, a few weeks is reasonable and if they find something, things will move VERY quickly. Been there! Good luck and I hope it's all benign!