Hi Abbie,

I’m really sorry you’re going through this. Well done for getting it checked. I’m also relatively new to this. The process may differ depending on the hospital but I’ve had two now at different hospitals and both followed the same rough outline. First you will be seen by a consultant. They will talk you through what will happen and then do a physical examination. Given you have an obvious lump they will most likely send you for an ultra sound scan of the breast and armpit area. Depending on what they see they may then take a biopsy for further examination. You may also get referred for other scans but it will depend on what they think is necessary at the time. You’ll probably then see the consultant again before you leave who’ll hopefully explain what happens next. I then got an appointment letter after two weeks for the following week so I won’t lie, it’s a bit of an agonising wait. But let’s hope that you don’t have to go there. My advice would be to keep positive and ask as many questions as you possibly can about they are doing, what they can see and what they think during the ultra sound. I’ll add you as a friend and if you have any questions or just want to chat/vent just let me know! Good luck for the appointment if I don’t speak to you before.

xxx