Timeline between diagnosis and surgery??
Hello — I was diagnosed with ILC in right breast on September 22nd of this year, it is ER/PR+, HER2-, no BRCA, primary lesion at 1.8. I'm curious about the recommended timeline between diagnosis and surgery. I had a follow up MRI which showed additional lesions and am now scheduled for an MRI Biopsy at the end of December. I have not had much communication from my doctor - the only reason I know of the additional lesions is from the results that were reported on MyChart (early November). I had to call to schedule the MRI Biopsy based on a text I received - no context provided. The MRI biopsy puts me three months out from diagnosis — is that typical? Would a surgery 4 months out be considered a reasonable timeframe? My anxiety is spiking with the long time line and the lack of communication. I would appreciate hearing from the community about their experience with the diagnosis>surgery timeline. Also, is it unreasonable to expect to hear from your doctor about test results and next steps (this seems like a reasonable expectation to me but it has been radio silence…so maybe not?).
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Hi @krispat , I'm sorry you have to join us here. Ideally surgery should be done within 90 days of diagnosis. The MRI and the second biopsy are certainly extending out the timeline. Sometimes the delay is due to circumstances such as staff shortages and not enough imaging equipment for the number of patients who require it. This was the case at my small rural hospital so I transferred my care to a large hospital 100 miles away where this was not a problem. I brought CDs of my imaging and the biopsy slides with me.
If insurance constraints or transportation issues keep you where you are you may need to be more proactive to get answers to your questions. Ask to speak to a nurse at the doctor’s office. Send a query via the message section of your patient portal. You can also ask to be put on the cancellation list to try to get an earlier biopsy appointment. The doctor is probably waiting for all the results before considering next steps. At this point you should have the biopsy as scheduled but you could make an appointment now for early January if you decide to go elsewhere. There is always some waiting involved but when it is excessive it can lead to worse outcomes. I hope things work out well for you in the end.
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Hurry up and wait has always been my experience. Everything moves so slowly. The anxiety is awful. For me the timeframe from biopsy to surgery has typically been a couple months or so.
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