Tips for getting treatment started quickly?

hi. For starters, persistence. I also had my doctor intervene when being unable to schedule a test could have delayed my treatment.

Does your insurance come with a health advocate? Mine was able to help with pre approvals.

Finally, if it takes longer to get all the info needed to craft the right care plan, maybe that’s ok?

It’s hard to really say because every medical facility seems to operate on different timelines. I was DX in January and my surgery was in March. Waiting is intolerable- we all truly feel your pain. Idk how you can hurry them up but I would let them know you are available is there is a cancellation.

There is a cancer clinic here that has an overflow of patients but it’s the best. I went there for my oncologist and annual mammograms. There were always a lot of people in the waiting room but they did head us up and move us out quickly.

I would have my name on the waiting list for an earlier appointment just in case.

Good luck!

Diane

Hope- so sorry you need to be here but it really is a great place for info and support! As seen in my signature I was dx in August and my surgery was in October. I did have to wait to get my genetics and I also needed an MRI that led to a second biopsy. Another part of my waiting was for tumor board, as they were deciding on what surgery I needed. I had a slow growing cancer so I wasn’t concerned about the wait, I was glad for their diligence. Coordinating the BS and PS came into play as well.

Do you have a nurse navigator that coordinates your appointments? I told her I was willing to do testing at any of the facilities in the area that were in the same health system. So I had to drive a bit further at times but was able to get some testing done sooner.

Waiting is the worst part for sure. At times it did feel like forever during the process. I wish you the best as you finalize your treatment plan. It was a huge help for me to join the surgery group for the month I was having my UMX. Take care and let us know how things are going. We are here for you

You might consider letting your team know that you are willing to take a cancellation spot when tests are scheduled and be ready to drop everything and go. My husband has always been able to see his docs more quickly when he shares that information with them.

40 days seems like a pretty quick span, considering there's a lot of prep that goes into surgery, a lot of pre-surgical planning, etc.

Claire in AZ

Hi, I was diagnosed early November and after several delays pending results, my surgery is this coming Wednesday. 3 months

My lump was found August 20, mammogram+US on September 9, biopsy on September 18, surgery on October 18. (Some of those dates might be a day or two off, but they're about right). Of course, who knows how long the lump had been there before my gynecologist caught it.

I asked my MO about a tumor board and she said she wouldn't ordinarily use one for a case like mine, but she was open to it if it would make me feel more comfortable. I ultimately decided I was comfortable going forward without one. My cancer seems to be a pretty textbook case, everything recommended was consistent with what I had researched, all the physical/genetic aspects of my tumor were congruous, and I'm at a well respected cancer center.

For me, he hardest part was waiting between the biopsy results and the first surgical oncology appointment. I was freaking myself out that it was stage 4 de novo, and I was so afraid to look on the internet, which ironically on my case would have reassured me that it was almost certainly early stage. After that, I didn't mind waiting on the surgery from a medical point of view.

I think the urgency for me came from being very anxious about work - starting more or less from the day before I got the biopsy results, I was a mental wreck and trying to be on point at my work (teaching) took every single drop of will I had and I was pretty miserable. I was worried I'd screw up, worried my tenure would get screwed up, worried about using unpaid leave, worried about working when I was doing a crappy job of it, etc. I was much more in a hurry to get started on radiation than to get the surgery - because that would give me, in my head, a solid reason to start my medical leave from work.

I feel like there's such an enormous mental component to this illness, at least there was for me. Physically, it is so much less than I was scared of (after watching my mom die of stage 4 de novo 20 years ago). I mean, it hasn't been easy, but it's been doable. But mentally and emotionally, it required a lot from me - both pushing through at times, and also acknowledging what felt like weakness to me (not being able to work), and accepting it and accommodating it and not blaming myself too much.

Hope - Everyone's journey is different and you have to do what is right for you, but I think it is good to hear what others have been through and it is good to get second opinions too. I'm not sure if your BS is part of a Breast Center or not, but that is something I would advise, I think it is also good to get a second opinion on the surgery aspect as well. My mother died of breast cancer so when I was diagnosed on 10/29/18 I was scared and was like now what. I had my first appointment with my BS on 11/1/18 and she gave me a solid piece of advise..."This is an emotional emergency, not a medical emergency," in fact it has probably been there for 2 years (earlier negative biopsy, another story). It was hard to hear but I knew where she was coming from and we decided to look into this further, I had a blood draw for genetic testing and a breast MRI that day. Everything was pointing to Stage 1, so she wanted to get a clearer picture if my tumor was isolated with the MRI and it came back that I only had the one spot. I decided if my genetics came back positive with one of the high risk genes I would probably go with a DMX, otherwise I would go with the lumpectomy. My BS also advised that I meet with a PS and RO because of the location of my tumor (towards the center of my chest and I would most likely have a divot without reconstruction).

In the mean time I met with another BS to get a second opinion. I liked her as well but the first one made a lot of suggestions of other tests and doctors she recommended that I do and meet with before making a decision. While waiting for the genetic test results the first BS made appointments with a PS and RO with the main goal of doing a lumpectomy. I received the genetic results one 11/13/18 for the high risk genes before these appointments and they were negative, so at that point I was leaning towards a lumpectomy.

On 11/14/18 I met with the PS and she suggested doing reconstruction at the same time as removing the tumor, it is referred to Oncoplasty Surgery (basically the removal of the tumor with immediate reconstruction/reduction surgery, yes I had the right one reduced to match the left). By doing this the skin is in such better shape then doing it after radiation and I would hopefully only need one surgery. Since I was thinking about that route my RO suggested doing my boost of radiation during surgery (Intraopertive Radiation) instead of at the end of radiation (mainly due to the fact that the PS would be moving the breast tissue around there would be no guarantee that the boost was directed to the right area).

So I considered this option and on 11/15/18 reached out to my BS to move forward with the option above, which meant 3 doctors for one surgery. Unfortunately that wouldn't be able to happen until 12/18/18, the soonest they could get all 3 doctors at the same time, but I knew waiting would be the best option for me. I had my surgery, received a report of clear margins and a negative sentinel node biopsy and started radiation on 1/24/19, 15 rounds. Since mine was Stage 1 they also ran an Oncotype test on my tumor to check the risk of reoccurrence and it came back low, so I'm not looking chemo but have 10 years of hormone therapy in my future.

Sorry to be so long winded but ultimately you have to do what is right for you and you are your best advocate. I will say the waiting sucked but my BS gave me something to help me sleep which helped. She said she normally has to write something for sleep and/or anxiety. She said you need to sleep and eat to keep you strength up. Good Luck with your journey and realize you have a whole community here to help support you.

Hope - not saying that your OB doesn’t know/isn’t right but the stage of your BC won’t be confirmed until after your Path report comes back. It can and has changed staging for some ladies. I would rely on your BS/MO for that information.

I know BC and all the medical bills that come with it are financial hardships for a lot of women. The charges just seem endless. We have BC/BS and a high deductible($5k) but we reached that in 3 months. I arranged to make monthly payments for several of the bills and the medical facilities agreed to that. I had radiation - 33 treatments when we were at 100% coverage thank goodness. Idk how we would have paid for that. We had exhausted our flex account and savings.

I did have a nurse navigator who was awesome. The hospital assigned her to me - I didn’t know there was one so I didn’t ask. She checked on me and offered advice. I would ask if they have such a person. Additional support is always good.

Good luck!

Diane