I thought it might help women in North Devon awaiting appointments for the breast clinic in North Devon to know what to expect.

I saw my GP on 7th October after finding a lump in my breast. He made an urgent referal to the breast clinic. Urgent referals are usually seen within two weeks. I got the call from the breast clinic the following week on 13th October with an appointment for November 9th. Waiting 34 days, nearly five weeks after seeing my GP was the hardest thing. This is the third time I have found a lump - all in my left breast - and the fear and anxiety that built over the five weeks was, at times, pretty unbearable. You would think it gets easier but not at all.

So, I had the appointment yesterday and all of the staff at the hospital were fantastic - really thorough, patient, receptive to questions and kind. I had a mammogram and ultrasound. The radiography consultant was brilliant. He told me he could see changes since my last mammogram which was over 3 years ago so he wanted in investigate with ultrasound. It took him about four minutes but it felt like a million years! 

He found a cyst, so he used fine needle aspiration because he said he wanted to be 100% certain that it was just a cyst. It was done under local aneasthetic and it didn't hurt at all. I watched the cyst disappear to nothing on the ultrasound screen. What a bloody relief that was!

Now the adrenalin has worn off and the stress of the last six weeks or so has gone, I am extremely tired today but nevertheless grateful to the staff at the clinic for going all out to reassure themselves and to reassure me.