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  • chrissyb
    chrissyb Member Posts: 11,438
    edited February 2012

    Hi Amy and welcome to the Aussie girls thread and BCO.  I can't help with your question as I'm in SA but there are a couple of Queensland girls here and I'm sure they will check in a bit later.

    Just remember that everything found in the breast is not BC and the percentages back up that statement.  Needless to say, I am keeping my fingers crossed that that is the case for you also so the question you have asked will become superfluous information.  Do you know when you are due to get some answers?  Waiting is so hard particularly when the result can impact your life but we've all been there and done thast so really know how you are feeling.

    Good luck!

    Love n hugs.  Chrissy

  • suzieq60
    suzieq60 Member Posts: 1,422
    edited February 2012

    Hi Amy - I'm in Brisbane. If you have access to private doctors and hopsitals - use it!!! The Gold Coast Hospital is awful IMHO. The only thing is that rads are not covered by private health-  only medicare, but you reach the safety net very quickly - make sure you are registered for the safety net before doing anything. Rads will cost you about 1,500 out of pocket. I went to Premion for radiation - they have a site in Southport - just looked it up for you. They were really great.

    I hope you don't have to use any of these services.

    Sue

  • Amy_V
    Amy_V Member Posts: 3
    edited February 2012

    Thanks Chrissy, lovely to meet you, thank you for your good wishes. I've been told I could wait for 10 working days, the scan was last thursday (23rd) BSQ look at it first and then they pass it onto a radiology company who also analyse the scans.

    Sue lovely to meet you too. Thank you for the info about GC hospital and the safety net. Private definitely sounds like an option for me then if the results come back with something. I've not heard of Premion so looked them up, probably their closest clinic to me is at John Flynn, but Southport sound good too. Is there much to chose between their different clinics?

  • Kate60
    Kate60 Member Posts: 523
    edited February 2012

    Hi Amy. I'm Kate and I live in WA. Sorry I can't help you with whats available in QLD, but I can tell you that I too have private health insurance, so for my surgery, I went private. Unfortunatly I picked up an infection in both breasts from the surgery. I don't know if it was because they didn't sterilize me/themselves sufficiently, but I am still battling with it. I spent 5 days in the public hospital due to the infection and I have to say, I was 100% impressed with the level of care I got there.  I am out of pocket over $3,000 from my surgery (breast surgeon and anaesthetist). Was it worth it? I don't know. I do know that once I was diagnosed I wanted it dealt with straight away and not put on a waiting list, so going private meant that it was removed from my body within a couple of weeks.  As it turns out my cancer was very aggressive, so it was the best choice for me.

    I would be asking how long you would have to wait if you went public, as opposed to how long if you went private. If the timeline isn't vastly different, I'd seriously consider saving your money and going public. Lord knows, you will be spending a lot just on miscellanous things like drugs etc. It all adds up and becomes a big financial strain in a very short time.

    Hoping that you have the best outcome when you do find out your results

    Cheers, Kate

  • Jennt28
    Jennt28 Member Posts: 1,095
    edited February 2012

    Hi Amy, I'm in Sydney so can't help unfortunately...



    Sitting in the radiology dept after having "draino" injected into my port to try and clear the blockage. Will check it again in an hour and hopefully this will clear...



    Jenn

  • Jennt28
    Jennt28 Member Posts: 1,095
    edited February 2012

    Port cleared. Was feeling so ill from the taste and smell of chemicals that came home and made brussell sprouts fried with bacon and onion and walnuts. SO YUMMY!!!!!



    Jenn

  • suzieq60
    suzieq60 Member Posts: 1,422
    edited February 2012

    Amy - I'm only basing my opinion of GC Hospital on my experiences there with my parents. If you pay all that money for private - use it. Yes, you will be out of pocket, but you will get better care. I went to Premion at Chermside and they were great, can't tell you what they're like on the coast but I'm sure they are good everywhere. One thing about public - a friend of my husband's was diagnosed with bowel cancer and had to wait 3 months for surgery - that is totally ridiculous.

    Don't start worrying now - wait until you get the mammo result - I'm sure you will be fine.

    Sue

  • racy
    racy Member Posts: 976
    edited February 2012

    Hi Amy, IF you end up having BC, your GP will refer you to a breast surgeon. The surgeons normally have particular hospital or hospitals where they operate. I had a quick look and I believe some private hospitals at GC do have BC services. You could discuss with your GP the options of private versus public. If your health fund has an agreement with a private hospital that you choose, you may not have any out of pocket expenses for the hospital stay, unless your policy has an excess. You can ask the surgeon for a quote for the op; in fact they will probably give you one. Medicare will pay for consultations and most of the op but there may be a gap that you would have to pay and they usually require it immediately.



    Specialists' fees can vary widely. It's up to each doctor to decide how much to charge.



    After surgery, the breast surgeon would then refer you to an oncologist and radiation oncologist if required. If you had a mastectomy and wanted reconstruction, you would also be referred to a plastic surgeon.



    The main differences between private and public, I think, are that with private care you can choose your own doctors, may get more timely treatment and have some costs to pay. You can also choose to have some treatment/s privately and some publicly.



    But this is all hypothetical. You haven't had a callback yet.



    Keep posting to let us know what happens.

  • Linda1966
    Linda1966 Member Posts: 441
    edited February 2012

    Hi Amy, Im in Brisbane and really hope you dont have to join our club. But if you do I can highly recommend my Breast Surgeon Dr Ian Bennett who operates out of Wesley Hospital at Toowong and I think also Sunnybank Private Hospital. To use his services you would definately go private. As far as Chemo is concerned I went public and used Royal Brisbane Womens and Childrens hospital at Hendra (RBH). Theyre always running late, but I have had excellent care with them and they provide Breastcare nurses you can contact anytime you have worries or concerns. I didnt do radiation so have no recomendations on that.

    When I was diagnosed I asked my gp to refer me to private and public Breast surgeons and hospitals and the private got back to me straight away and I was having my masectomy a week later. The public system was disorganised and while eventually they decided I was a priority and were going to fit me in faster, initially it was going to be at least a month wating just to have an initial consult with them which would have done my head in. So like Kate I bit the bullet and paid to go private with Dr Bennett and have never begrudged the money I paid for peace of mind and quality care. I had no insurance at all but it didnt end up costing me much from memory. Though my treatment is finished now and Im only on Arimedix, Dr Bennett sees me every 6 months and I see my onclogist at the RBH on the alternative 6 months so Im seeing a professional every 3 or 4 months on average and will continue to do so till im 5 years cancer free, then hopefully go to yearly visits with each (which will mean one every 6 months). So the followup service is great from both.

    Good luck with the results and like the others have said, dont worry too much, it might not be anything of concern, but please let us know either way.  

  • Kate60
    Kate60 Member Posts: 523
    edited February 2012

    Hi Lyndal. That was a great response very useful info if Amy does require it.

    It just goes to show what a helpful group we are, with us all spread around the country we can help others. I hope your doing OK. Love Kate

  • Trisha-Anne
    Trisha-Anne Member Posts: 1,661
    edited February 2012

    Hello Amy - I really hope you don't have to join our club too.  You are going through the awful waiting period where you don't know what's going to happen.
    I can't help you with care in QLD either as I'm in Canberra.  But Sue, Racy and Lyndal have given you great information.

    I did go private for my op - but that was solely based on the fact that the Breast Surgeon I wanted wasn't available in the public system.  I did my chemo through the public system, but here in Canberra the public system is actually one of the better ones for chemo in Australia.  It can be an expensive process though.  I was out over $12,000 even with Medicare, private health insurance and hitting the safety net.  But that included a mastectomy, port inserstion and chemo.  I started to add up how much the whole process cost and stopped counting at around $150,000.  So my bit didn't seem too bad.

    I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you that you get good news and don't need to do anything at all.

    It's rain, rain and more rain down here in Canberra - we have flood warnings and more water around than I've seen for a long time.  Very soggy!
    Trish

    xoxo

  • chrissyb
    chrissyb Member Posts: 11,438
    edited February 2012

    Wow!  Everyone is so quiet!!!  I sure hope it's just because you are busy.

    Love n hugs all!  Chrissy

  • Kate60
    Kate60 Member Posts: 523
    edited February 2012
    I'm here Chrissy Smile yep sure is quiet, but there will probably be a mad rush tomorrow. How are you doing anyway? Hope your well. I'm fine so nothing healthwise to report. Love Kate xx
  • chrissyb
    chrissyb Member Posts: 11,438
    edited February 2012

    I'm doing fine except for the knees.....lol.......the weather here has decided to go directly to winter......do not pass go.......do not collect $200........lol.........and my knees are screaming!!!!!  The temp hasn't gotten above 15 all day and on Moday it was 35 so 20 degrees in two days is not fun for my arthritic self......lol.    DH & I get our new glasses tomorrow afternoon so I'm looking forward to that and then I will be taking DH to do the grocery shopping so I don't have to do all the lifting........sort of like killing two birds with one stone sort of thing.

    Good to hear that you are feeling fine.  Have you rested well after your gardening stint?

    Love n hugs.  Chrissy

  • AussieSheila
    AussieSheila Member Posts: 439
    edited February 2012

    Bluddy hot here girls, although I think it's mostly humidity.  I won't move unless there's a fan near where I want to be. We have a large fan at the foot of the bed (which DH controls, grrr) and I have a little one near my face on the bedside table. 

    I do have one sore/achy right knee and foot, which ache like the devil when I go to bed, along with the left hip at the same time.  I may have posted this before, but I can only assume what I call the 'coffin' position in bed to be able to get to sleep.  This means flat on my back, legs straight, toes curled up and arms crossed in front.  Mind you, having a kitten galumphing all over your body in the middle of the night can be a bit painful too, but I do like the way she cuddles up after she's finished playing.

    So Chrissy, who gets to push the trolley, huh?  My DH thinks he should be the driver and I know I need to use it as a 'walker' in order to get around the whole shop.  If I let go of it for a second, he's off with it around the corner and into the next aisle. I can't count the number of times we have got home and found the pantry bare of certain items in the next week, because they've been by-passed in the trolley wars. 

    Sheila.

  • chrissyb
    chrissyb Member Posts: 11,438
    edited February 2012

    Sheila, my DH is happy to let me push the trolley......lol.......as he's the one with two good knees he goes all over the place looking for things so I don't have to walk so far.    He's like the pet puppy....lol......fetch!!!   The only problem is that while he's looking he finds other things he decides he wants and my grocery bill doubles (sometimes).  I don't let him get away with that all the time and particularly tomorrow as we are both determined to loose some weight so there will be no treats in the trolley!

    I love kittens!!!  My two old cats have their own chairs and that's where they sleep but I do remember when they were babies the midnight kisses and lawnmower purrs that often woke me up.

    Hope you are felling fine and you DH as well.

    Love n hugs.  Chrissy

  • Trisha-Anne
    Trisha-Anne Member Posts: 1,661
    edited February 2012

    All fine here too - but very soggy.  Lots of phone calls from concerned friends last night as Cooma is on flood watch with evacuations happening and Queanbeyan is the same.  We are halfway between them, so everyone thinks we are being evacuated too.  Mind you - I haven't seen so much rain for a long, long time.  There are lakes everywhere. 

    I've made it into work, but may go home early, as our private road into our land was starting to flood this morning.  We'd recently had it fixed as it tends to flood easily and had a drain put in.  That seemed to fix the problem, but we've had so much rain in the past couple of days that it's not coping now.  I think we are up to 100mm in the last 3 days at home - which is amazing when you consider we've had years where we've only gotten 300mm!!

    The wet weather is making all of me ache too.  Back, knees, hips and elbows!  Apart from that I'm good lol

    Hope everyone else is going well.
    Trish

    xxoxo

  • Kate60
    Kate60 Member Posts: 523
    edited February 2012
    What's rain? LOL Frown
  • gerrib
    gerrib Member Posts: 60
    edited February 2012

    Yes - pouring here too in Nth East Victoria. Lots of roads flooded. I'm hoping I can get through to go to my Rx treatment in Wodonga today.

  • Kate60
    Kate60 Member Posts: 523
    edited March 2012
    Gosh, I just checked out the BOM radar for Canberra. Looks like you are getting another hammering. Hope you're OK Trisha. Take it easy on the roads - (that's if you are venturing out today). Gerri, I hope you make your appointment. Can you miss a day if you can't get there? xxxx
  • racy
    racy Member Posts: 976
    edited March 2012

    It is a perfect morning in Brisbane; sunny and warm. I just had my pilates class and feel really good.

    Since going back to work I feel much better psychologically. Apart from the job itself being great, I have a reason to get up and dress up in the mornings and my overall routine has improved.

    I have less time for BCO but maybe that will help curb my addiction lol.

  • chrissyb
    chrissyb Member Posts: 11,438
    edited March 2012

    Wow you girls over East are really copping it!!!  I had a couple of leaks where I've never had leaks before but nothing major and I think that's because the wind was coming from the north west and our wind and rain usually come from the south weat.............really weird if you ask me!

    Good to hear that everyone is doing so well.  Gerri I sure hope you manage to get to your treatment tomorrow!

    Racy it's good that you are enjoying being back at work and feeling a little more like you're getting into a more normal routine.

    So far today no rain but it's still cloudy and threatening so who knows......it may still come again.  It is forecast for a heap more.

    Heading off to Clare to pick up the new specs in about an hour so I'm really looking forward to having them.  While I'm there I'm going to try to find a new battery for my computer as I'm sure that's what's causing my overheating problem................lol..........and the one I have is four years old so I think it just might be time to change it!

    Have a great day all!

    Love n hugs.  Chrissy

  • Kate60
    Kate60 Member Posts: 523
    edited March 2012

    You too Chrissy and enjoy your new glasses

    Racy - It's so good that you are feeling great and getting back to normal... we are here of course anytime, but I think it's a positive sign that you are indeed moving on with your life. xxx

  • Trisha-Anne
    Trisha-Anne Member Posts: 1,661
    edited March 2012

    Well came home early as so many roads are being closed.  Found the back verandah and garage are flooded - but worst of all our septic system was flooding too! Water in the toilets was rising and the alarms going off. DH said the alarm went off at 8.00am this morning and hasn't stopped.  Of course he didn't ring the company that services it - it's raining - the yard is flooding - what can they do?  Sigh ....  I called them, and they were alarmed, it's ok if there's flash flooding (happened 12 months ago) it will sort itself out, but water rising in the toilets is bad.  Finally found that the irrigation pipes running from the system were blocked.  Cut one of the big pipes and water gushed out.  Happy to say now that toilets are back to normal and levels in the septic system is falling dramatically.

    Garage and verandah will have to go down on their own though.  There is so much water that there's nothing we can do about it.  We had 59mm from around 12 noon yesterday to 7.00am this morning and another 35mm on top of that today.  And it's still pouring.  Our road into the property is under almost a metre of water.  So I'm now home to stay for a while - no going into work tomorrow.  I can work from home, so that's ok.  But there's even more rain forecast for Saturday and Sunday.  Honestly - there's no-where for it to go. 

    Apart from that - we are fine lol - although I could throttle DH :-)

    Trish

    xoxo

  • Kate60
    Kate60 Member Posts: 523
    edited March 2012

    Oh Trisha - It sounds like your one day in and already you have cabin fever. Unbelievable the amount of rain you have been having. Why is it when I lived there it was severe drought for 7 years and the dams were I think only 28% and now they are at bursting point. Gives me hope that one day it will rain consistently over here and replenish our dams.

    Good that you worked out your septic. We have only just gone onto main sewerage as our septic kept blocking up and spilling out. Smelt dreadful constantly - grass on the slopey side though  never looked greener.

  • racy
    racy Member Posts: 976
    edited March 2012

    Trish, I'm glad you had the nous to be able to find a quick fix for your plumbing problem. Lucky you got home when you did as it doesn't sound like your husband would have solved it. I would think this is the type of situation when having a husband would be useful, but maybe that's expecting too much!



    Is your house on a slab or built above ground level? I hope you don't get flooded inside.

  • Trisha-Anne
    Trisha-Anne Member Posts: 1,661
    edited March 2012

    Kate - I'm not even  one day in yet - I went to work this morning - got home less than 3 hours ago lol

    We are on a slab - so the water on the back verandah won't have to rise too much more and it will be in here.  We are watching it closely and if it gets too much higher, we'll have to call the SES and try to get a pump or something.  Problem is we won't get anything heavier than a car up here - the ground is too soft and wet - even a car is likely to get bogged.

    It will be a long night I think

    Trish

    xoxo

  • Linda1966
    Linda1966 Member Posts: 441
    edited March 2012

    aww Trish,sorry to hear that. Hope you can do something to stop from having any of your possessions damaged.

    Good luck and hope you do manage to get some sleep

  • chrissyb
    chrissyb Member Posts: 11,438
    edited March 2012

    Wow Trish that's an incredible amount of water!  Do you have some sand bags that you can put near your doors to stop the water inundating the inside of your house?  If not, I would ring the SES to see if you can get some as it's easier to keep the water out than get it out once it's there.

    Sure hope things get a whole lot better for you and ther night is not too long.

    Love n hugs.  Chrissy

  • Kate60
    Kate60 Member Posts: 523
    edited March 2012

    Keep us posted Trish. I will be thinking of you and your DH tonight (((hugs))).

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