Being ignored by ENT consultant

I had my FNA biopsy on my thyroid nodule on the 16th May 2022, by the 17th June I had still not received the results or been contacted by the ENT department 

so I took it upon myself to contact my GP to find out if he had received any comms from the hospital 

and to my surprise they had and it was received on the 7th June, 10 days prior and NO ONE had contacted me 

My GP printed off the report for me and gave me a quick basic overview, I then had to try and work out for myself the meaning of the report using Google 

it turns out from that I could understand I have a 3.7cm lump on the left lobe and it's a U3 indeterminate Thy3 

I have made countless calls to the ENT secretary they even told me to call the appointment line to book a face to face with my consultant 

the appointment line came back with December for a F2F to discuss my results 

this is unacceptable level of care 

I have heard nothing from my consultant 

I have no idea how bad or good these results are 

no one is talking to me 

I'm stressed, scared and totally in the dark 

I have no idea what else I can do 

My mental health is deteriorating rapidly, I can't sleep and my emotions are making me more unwell 

I'm normally a very strong woman but this is wrecking me 

anyone had any dealings with this department and is this normal to be treated in this way 

any advice would be greatly received 

thank you

stacey x 

  • Hello Stacey,

    As no one replied to your message yet, I just wanted to stop by to say that with all of this going no wonder you're stressed.

    Hopefully, other forum members who have had a similar experience will come in shortly to talk with you and offer some insight and advice. Until then, if you think that it could be helpful to ask some questions to one of our nurses, please know that the team can be reached on this number 0808 800 4040 Monday - Friday between 9 a.m - 5 p.m. 

    I hope all turns out OK for you Stacey and that this lump turns out to be nothing sinister.

    Best wishes,

    Renata, Cancer Chat Moderator

  • Sounds like they aren't worried if they are not scheduling an appointment until December. I would assume this means they think it's harmless and doesn't need treatment but they want to keep an eye on it, in case anything changes. It sounds reassuring. 

  • Hi Stacey,

    This is almost unbelievable! Your GP will be able to translate the letter for you and push for your 121 appointment. My own consultant insists on a 121 meeting with him to discuss even routine tests and scans - that is best practice.

    You should have been given a named nurse as a contact, if you were they would probably be more accessible and able to translate the letter.

    Your local MacMillan services might be able to advocate for you.

    You might want to raise a formal complaint by writing to the Trust's Chief Executive and/or your local Clinical Commissioning Group (if you are in England). 
     

    Best wishes

    Dave

  • Update 

    I had an apology from this hospital and the consultant 

    so I had a face to face today and I am in the cancer pathway and a meeting will be held regarding my case in a few days 

    and the likely hood is I'll be going to surgery and I'll be fast tracked as I'm boarderline suspicious 

    However they want to make sure that surgery right now is for the best or they may go for a second FNA 

    either way surgery will be happening jusy either soon rather than later 

     

    thank you for everyone's replies xx