Hi [@memum]‍ 

Just a quick message to see how you got on at your appointment today? I hope that the Dr was able to give you some positive news. 

Let us know how you got on if you get chance. 

Best wishes, 
Jenn
Cancer Chat moderator

Hi Jenn,

Thank you for checking. It's still a 'don't know' situation, but I am very frustrated by the system and the attitude of the clinician at the hospital. 

The first thing the clinician said - didn't introduce herself - was "it's all about education, I know you must be panicking because your sister had breast cancer but pain is not related to breast cancer, I am running out of leaflets but let me explain...". I can go on and on on how patronizing, unlikeable and irritating this woman was, and why on earth she thought I was not educated? I am a very well and properly educated person and read all about breast cancer prior to the consultation, including the same website she was asking me to look at... after about 5-8 mins giving me a lecture on how I should know that I don't have breast cancer - meaning that I was wasting her time there, she asked me to lay on the bed to examine my breasts, then she said "oh... actually we do have a very dense area here..."

I had 2 mammograms as the 1st one showed some calcifications, they did a second 'close up' one.

Then I was sent to do an ultrasound. The lady looked at it and said that the area that was painful had quite an inflammation and asked me if I had any accident or a lump before, I said - no accidents, I don't remember about the lump. She said "maybe it was a cyst that burst and is giving you inflammation. Anyway, I'm not too worried." 

I had to go back to the clinician lady. She said that I needed to do a guided biopsy but I had to wait for two weeks as I needed another Ultrasound to check for the inflammation first and then do the biopsy. Then she went on and on about how inflammations are painful and long to sort themselves out, meaning "don't bother your gp or come back to the hospital before your schedule".

I then asked her, very politely if she could educate me on how she diagnoses Inflammatory breast cancer and she went red (literally), raised her voice and said " This is a whole new level of escalation, you read too much on the Internet, we will not discuss this in this clinic, I have 20 years of clinic and the calcifications are just an incidental finding, not a clinical finding and not related with the inflammation" and when I asked about the pink patch on my breast she said it must be an allergy and refused to discuss anything further with me. 

I was quiet and extremely polite, to be honest I didn't know what else to say then, but I'm regretful that I didn't sit and demanded a biopsy then and there. I really hope it all turns out to be ok, but I do think that with my age (50), the inflammation (and pain) in my breast and the pink rash, all in the same place, at the same time she should have asked for a Punch Biopsy straightaway, Instead, I will have to wait for 2 weeks for a needle biopsy. 

Your opinion would be very much appreciated x