Lost in system
Hello. My name is Valerie, I'm 54. On Monday I had a mamogram which found a "new 1.7x1.2 spiculated mass in the anterior of my areolar. Due to positioning they could not provide a bi rads score. It states that an ultrasound is required. Its been 4 days and I have not been called. The "unknown" is eating me up. My Dr is on holidays until the first week of September- his receptionist said its urgent but unable to help. I have called the breast screening clinic and they haven't returned my call. I'm not sure if this is an American site but I'm in Ontario Canada and we have a well established breast screening program with a established pathway. It is suppose to be 15 weeks from mamogram to treatment. Am i warranted to be concerned that 4 days have gone by. I am scared and just want to know if its malignant
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Hi @neverthought72, and welcome to Breastcancer.org. We're so very sorry for the worries that bring you here, but we're glad you've found us.
Does your doctor's practice use a health portal where you can send a message asking for your results and/or someone to call you to review the mammogram results? Sometimes when a physician goes on leave, they will have another physician cover their patients as necessary, and this may be the way to get in contact with whoever that doctor may be.
We know the waiting is so hard - we hope you find answers soon. Please come back and let us know either way. We're keeping everything crossed for you!
—The Mods
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Hi @neverthought72, Being recalled for an ultrasound after a mammogram is scary and upsetting since you don't know the status of what was seen. Breast cancer is not considered a medical emergency like a heart attack. Ontario's 15 weeks from mammogram to treatment pathway actually means treatment should start within 15 weeks of the suspicious mammogram. In your case there is quite a bit of time for the process to play out. While I currently live in the US (where my cancer treatment took place) I have lived in Ontario and Quebec so I'm familiar with how those provincial systems work. If you haven't heard from the breast screening clinic before your GP returns from holidays by all means contact him. Often, however, your doctor can't influence their schedule.
A BIRADS score is just a radiologist's estimate of the probability that a lesion might be malignant so it is not essential. While an ultrasound helps evaluate whether a biopsy is warranted the only way to know the result is when one is done and you receive the pathology report.
Unfortunately you have to live with uncertainty for much longer than you would like to. Try to stay busy to keep your mind off this. Even if the lesion is malignant most breast cancer diagnoses are early stage and very treatable. Hopefully you won't need a biopsy or, if you do, the result will be benign. All the best.
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15 weeks is bs. That is too long for women to wait. This has nothing to do with diagnosis but everything to do with mental health. I would urge poster to call and try to get in sooner and be polite but ask to be on waitlist for sooner appointment. Follow up each week and ask if any movement on waitlist and keep phone charged….
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