IDC Nerves need calming

That is longer than I'd be willing to wait. In fact, my initial appointment was scheduled about that far out at first, and I had a doctor friend pull some strings to get me in sooner. I'd call back & tell them you want to be seen sooner, or see if any other doctors in your area could get you in more quickly. 

At the same time, two things I've read on this site... One, the cancer has likely been there for years, so a few more weeks or a month or two really isn't likely to make a big difference. The other is that "breast cancer is not a medical emergency" -- which is some comfort, but I personally feel it IS a psychological emergency, or at least it was in my case! I was about to lose my mind!

I too received my diagnosis from biopsy, called the surgeon immediately and was told it would be 2-3 weeks before I could see.  Called my doctor friend; he made some calls had me into an oncologist the next day and that oncologist had the surgeon come in that Friday (her day off!) to consult with me.  My diagnosis was January 25.  Given all that I didn't start my treatment for almost a month because I had to have 2 surgeries to remove all margins and wait for the ONCO/DX test to come back (the original test on the biopsy could not be done because not enough tissue to test).  I had to wait for my surgery tissues to be sent off for testing which takes a week to get back.  

However, once all results were back, I had my port put in within a fews days and started chemo 2 days after that.  I am now 17 days past my first chemo treatment and by next week, I will be halfway done.

Know this, my surgeon told me that my cancer had been there for 4-5 years but was just now big enough to see.  Scary thought!  I DCIS was 2cm in length but still very small and my infiltration was only .6 cm.  All numbers sound huge to me because let's face it, it's cancer people!  But once I got the ruler out, I realized that it was in fact very small and caught very early.

When I got all my test results back, my onco told me that I could take time to think about what I wanted to do (I was borderline for whether or not to do chemo) and had plenty of time to get another opinion if that's what I wanted.  What I wanted was to get this out of me and kick it's butt ASAP.

It is very common to have to wait because it's not as fast growing as those of us with this feel that it is.  However, if you know ANYONE who can help expedite the process, I say go for it!  The squeaky wheel ALWAYS gets the oil and this is your body.  The waiting is the worst, but hang in there.  Once a plan is in place, you will feel much better.

Sorry you had to meet us here but glad you found us. The initial part right after diagnosis is the worse. It's like no mans land. You want to move quickly yet it seems like none of the doctor schedules or folks have any sense of urgency. It is a "hurry up and wait" situation.



My story was that I chose to meet with two surgeons, the first was only available 1+ weeks out and the second surgeon was over two weeks before I could see them. I was glad that I didn't rush and get the second opinion because I really liked the second surgeon. I am not part of any breast cancer center, but the surgeon built a team for me like if i was, and that really helped. After the series of tests, meetings with surgeons, oncologists, etc., it was two months before I ended up with surgery. In between that time I was an emotional mess and SWORE my tumor was bigger, while none of these doctors seemed concerned about the length of time it was taking. It got to a point that my breast surgeon did another ultrasound to reassure me at in fact things hadn't changed.



Bottom line is that things will seem to move at a snail's pace but it is not uncommon to have to wait for everything. Also consider lining up second opinions as well. If you can pull some strings, that's great. Best wishes.

Liamsgrand,

It sounds like you are assembling an excellent team.  A two week wait isn't bad for a breast cancer surgeon.  You and your daughter are in my prayers that your treatment will resolve everything as quickly as possible.  Bless both of you.