Hello David12 and thanks for posting,

I am sorry to learn what has been happening and can understand that waiting for more tests isn't easy.  

I wondered if you can talk to the consultant again and see what they say about this. It sounds like he thought this lump is a benign (not cancerous) tumour - this is what pleomorphic adenomas are, but they do carry a small risk of developing into cancer which I expect you have already read about. However most are benign. 

I appreciate that because the consultant said he couldn't be sure, there is a question mark about what is going on, but even so, I think things might be moving faster if he was especially concerned. 

To get most tests in the private system you usually need a medical referral which you could get from a private doctor, your GP or the consultant you have already seen. What you don't want to do is to pay for the wrong sort of test and waste effort and money, so it might be best to speak to the consultant first to find out what he was going to arrange in the NHS.  You should be able to leave a message with his secretary - the hospital switchboard should know who to put you through to if you ask them. Try asking if the consultant can call you back so you can talk over your concerns about how quickly the lump has grown.   

Your GP may know something about local private hospitals so you could ask what they think about them and going private.  Private care is expensive so it would be best to get some estimates about costs before you make any decisions. But I think just finding out what the options are can sometimes help as situations like this can leave you feeling powerless which adds to the stress of it. 

For now it might be best to try and get more input and advice from the GP and consultant through the NHS and take it from there. 

If you want to talk anything over, please give us a call on Freephone 0808 800 4040 - we are around weekdays, 9-5.

Best wishes, 

Julia

Thank you very much Julia. I'll be sure to heed your advice.

David