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Private treatment / scans / MRI cos of NHS wait

SaraBev
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I’m waiting for a MRI on my boobs which is the 17th then more waiting for results then I expect more waiting for something else... when all I want to know is has it spread !! But that’s not going to be found out until after the mastectomy and more waiting for results.. so my brother has offered to pay for any scans I need to speed things up. 
I’m thinking about having a full body MRI to look for spread so I know what we are dealing with straight off and hopefully have my mind put to rest and can get on with the op with less anxiety. 
I wondered if anyone else had done this? 
did it speed things up for you? X 

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    Hello SaraBev, 

    That's a very generous offer from your brother and I imagine you really appreciate his support during this stressful time. I hope that you will hear from the experience of some of our members who may have chosen to go private too. You can find out more on this page  of our website about NHS treatment compared with private cancer treatment. This information from the NHS website may also be useful to you. 

    I will now let our members come and share their own experiences on this with you. I hope your mind is put at rest soon and that you can find out whether there has been any spread. Hopefully the operation goes well for you.

    Keep us updated if you get a chance on what you end up doing and how it all goes. We'll be keeping everything crossed for you. 

    Best wishes, 

    Lucie, Cancer Chat Moderator

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    Hello Sarabev,

    I am sorry you are in this anxious period. It's very tough awaiting results etc. Also the diagnosis knocks all of us off course for a while. 
     

    I paid for two scans in 2020 purely because I felt the wait was excruciating. I didn't have a full body scan but had an Mammogram (result same day) and an MRI with results in 24hours. It did help my anxiety and I was lucky I could afford it. 
     

    The scans are done on the NHS as fast as it's possible. It wasn't any better than the NHS apart from the speed of course.  I have had my treatment and I am out the other end now. It's a tough call but I no longer have the high anxiety I once had so will likely always use the NHS from now on. 
     

    Also want to add that scans don't actually stop anxiety. Speed does help of course  but I found going through the different stages of treatment that I kind of gradually 'acclimatised' and felt in the end like saying "ok so what's  next"?  That might sound ridiculous to you right now but cancer IS a journey. We all find out a lot about ourselves. Most of us surprise ourselves too. Hold on to everything positive. Keep those you trust close and trust your own instincts. 
    I wish you well with everything. 
    Kebb 

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