Anonymous
Post 08/08/2025 21:23     Subject: Wow--Have to wait months for possible cancer to be checked
I had a breast lump discovered by my new gynecologist upon first examination back in the early 2000s and the process for getting a mammogram then a needle biopsy took several weeks in a moderate sized city. Make it a major metropolitan area with patients traveling in for treatment from other places and a wait of a few weeks is absolutely normal.

Having been through it, I *DO* very much appreciate your anxiety. I hope you find out soon that it isn’t anything to worry about.
Anonymous
Post 08/08/2025 21:20     Subject: Wow--Have to wait months for possible cancer to be checked
I have a persistent cough that I’ve had a since February. I’ve been trying to get in for an endoscopy after I was cleared out of the ENT and lung scans. The earliest they could get me in was January 2026.

That’s unbelievable. That’s not healthcare.

I called around to every doctor on BC/BS list and I did manage to get an appointment within the month.
Anonymous
Post 08/08/2025 21:05     Subject: Wow--Have to wait months for possible cancer to be checked
Get used to it, op. My uterine biopsy found cancer. I waited 5 weeks for surgery and now 2 weeks out from surgery and no pathology report yet.

The worst part is the waiting.
Anonymous
Post 08/08/2025 21:02     Subject: Wow--Have to wait months for possible cancer to be checked
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.


She has a suspicious lump, PP. While most are benign, as someone with BC I can assure you that her concerns are valid. “Wait your turn?” How many threads to you s**t on daily? Do better.

Have you tried Community Radiology, OP? Also, I would call your OB to see if they can get anything expedited on your behalf.


The OP deemed it suspicious, not her health care provider.
Anonymous
Post 08/08/2025 21:00     Subject: Wow--Have to wait months for possible cancer to be checked
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.



Are you on a different calendar system? September is NEXT month, not MONTHS away. Reasonable wait. Your insurance sucks so focus on that while you wait
Anonymous
Post 08/08/2025 20:58     Subject: Wow--Have to wait months for possible cancer to be checked
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:3-4 weeks is not a bad wait time honestly.


It’s not a mammo callback. She has a lump.


I also had breast cancer. Nothing happens immediately. From my suspicious screening mammogram to my first appointment with the surgeon was 11 weeks.


And I'm not seeing any posts from women who waited 11 weeks and then died from the cancer, so no problemo.
generally speaking, dead folk don't post on forums
Anonymous
Post 08/08/2025 20:41     Subject: Wow--Have to wait months for possible cancer to be checked
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I’m sorry OP. It’s maddening to wait, and no one in healthcare seems to have much of a sense of urgency.


That a strange take. Do you think healthcare workers are just sitting around picking their nose? And make appointments months down the road just to make people suffer??


I think it took me two full days to get the scheduler at Inova tl return my call so I could make an appointment for cancer surgery. It took me more than one day before that to get the diagnosing doctor’s office to send over the referral that the doctor told me she had sent over but hadn’t, and another full day to get the office to send me their list of recommended surgeons that they insisted was in my portal but was not. I would not be allowed to have that error rate at my job nor to take 2 days to return calls, and my job isn’t life and death.


The scheduler can take a little while, because they have to coordinate with both the surgeon and the OR at the hospital.
Anonymous
Post 08/08/2025 19:36     Subject: Wow--Have to wait months for possible cancer to be checked
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I’m sorry OP. It’s maddening to wait, and no one in healthcare seems to have much of a sense of urgency.


That a strange take. Do you think healthcare workers are just sitting around picking their nose? And make appointments months down the road just to make people suffer??


I think it took me two full days to get the scheduler at Inova tl return my call so I could make an appointment for cancer surgery. It took me more than one day before that to get the diagnosing doctor’s office to send over the referral that the doctor told me she had sent over but hadn’t, and another full day to get the office to send me their list of recommended surgeons that they insisted was in my portal but was not. I would not be allowed to have that error rate at my job nor to take 2 days to return calls, and my job isn’t life and death.
Anonymous
Post 08/08/2025 19:31     Subject: Wow--Have to wait months for possible cancer to be checked
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I’m sorry OP. It’s maddening to wait, and no one in healthcare seems to have much of a sense of urgency.


That a strange take. Do you think healthcare workers are just sitting around picking their nose? And make appointments months down the road just to make people suffer??


You sound like you’ve never had a major health issue.
Anonymous
Post 08/08/2025 18:53     Subject: Wow--Have to wait months for possible cancer to be checked
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:3-4 weeks is not a bad wait time honestly.


It’s not a mammo callback. She has a lump.


I also had breast cancer. Nothing happens immediately. From my suspicious screening mammogram to my first appointment with the surgeon was 11 weeks.


And I'm not seeing any posts from women who waited 11 weeks and then died from the cancer, so no problemo.
Anonymous
Post 08/08/2025 18:49     Subject: Wow--Have to wait months for possible cancer to be checked
It may be normal, but it's not right for all these posters to recount long waits for serious diseases. It's a sad world we live in that we have the medical technology to care for patients rapidly, but somehow we've enclosed ourselves in a health system that forces 99% of people to wait for their situations to be addressed.

I hope we can all agree on that.
Anonymous
Post 08/08/2025 18:47     Subject: Re:Wow--Have to wait months for possible cancer to be checked
I think it’s all the feds trying to squeeze in healthcare. Wait times seem far longer than usual. Check for cancellations.
Anonymous
Post 08/08/2025 18:44     Subject: Wow--Have to wait months for possible cancer to be checked
It is interesting that everyone is assuming this is a breast. The OP did not say that. Some of the urgency depends on what the report says. I am a Nurse Practitioner and when patients have a concerning finding, we can often get people for additional imaging sooner. It really depends on what the report says. Talk to your ordering provider, OP.
Anonymous
Post 08/08/2025 15:41     Subject: Wow--Have to wait months for possible cancer to be checked
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.
Anonymous
Post 08/08/2025 15:39     Subject: Wow--Have to wait months for possible cancer to be checked
Anonymous wrote:I’m sorry OP. It’s maddening to wait, and no one in healthcare seems to have much of a sense of urgency.


That a strange take. Do you think healthcare workers are just sitting around picking their nose? And make appointments months down the road just to make people suffer??