Hello Guineapiglover

As you've mentioned in your post, many people find waiting for results to be a particularly difficult time. The prospect of bad news causes worry and anxiety and as you've described it can be a real rollercoaster of emotions. 

Hopefully, you will have some news about your mammogram results soon but I'd really encourage you to keep the appointment at the breast clinic. Explain your concerns to the team and hopefully, they will be able to give you some reassurance to help you move forward in a more positive way. In the meantime, please try and avoid Dr Google. We know that most people who turn to the internet for answers end up feeling more worried than before so this may well be feeding into the emotions you're dealing with. 

You might also want to talk with your GP about how you're feeling. It may be that they can signpost you to some support options available in your area to help as well. 

I hope that you have some positive news soon. Do keep in touch and let us know how you get on. 

Best wishes, 
Jenn
Cancer Chat moderator 

Dear Jenn,

     I just found my old post from a year ago. It's now the waiting game again, I had my latest mammogram on 17 th December 2024 . It's now a month later, but results might be delayed by the Christmas holidays etc. I was relieved to read that I had a relatively long time waiting last time which turned out ok.However It doesn't become easier especially that a lump appeared near my nipple a month before my mammogram.Thankfully the small lump seems less noticeable now.I am beginning to think my extremely dense breasts make it a slightly slower process of reading the mammograms.  Many thanks for your advice, it's great having somewhere where we can share and help each other.

Best wishes 

      Guinea pig lover.

Dear Guineapiglover,

Welcome back.

I am glad to hear that all is still going well for you, even if you are back to this awful stage of waiting for results again. There have been some delays in getting results due to the festive period, but over a month is quite a long time to wait. If you don't hear anything soon, why not phone up your consultant's secretary? She should be able to tell you whether or not the results are back. Once they are returned to the hospital, all results still have to be discussed, at one of the regular multidisciplinary team meetings (MDTs). This is where all those who are involved in your care, meet to discuss the findings and decide whether to keep monitoring you, or whether or not any further action is needed.

I sincerely hope that you hear soon and that it will be good news.

Please keep in touch and let us know how you get on. We are always here for you.

Kind regards,

Jolamine xx

Dear Jolamine, and anyone else reading this.....

I have had an update for my long awaited yearly  mammogram results from Dec 17 th. I kept waiting for the post, to no avail as I was originally told they would be sent within 2 weeks. Well it's nearly Feb so I decided to ring the breast clinic. I was then told I would receive my results at my next consultation which is 7 th March. and it couldn't be discussed over the phone. Unfortunately I changed it to a phone call appointment before I realised the results letter would be coming after the consultation,I suppose that's ok. Then today I received my phone call consultation letter and it says a member of the breast team will discuss treatment and answer any queries you have. I am rather confused on what this means. Have they potentially found an area that needs further investigation?

I am obviously not in the emergency category or you are ok category but I could perhaps say I am somewhere in-between.

I suppose writing this has helped me get things off my chest, however how on earth do new patients cope with these sorts of things?

Best wishes, 

Guinea pig lover.x

 .....

Dear Guinea pig lover,

I am glad to hear that you phoned the breast clinic, but sorry to hear that the appointment letter for 7th March, seems to have raised more concerns. It sounds as if this is just a standard letter to cover all bases, so don't try to read too much into it. Waiting for results is always a stressful time and you seem to have quite a long wait for them. I sincerely hope that all will be ok at the end of the day.

Please keep in touch and let us know how you get on. We are always here for you.

Kind regards,

Jolamine xx

Dear Jolamine,

Apologies if I have posted this somewhere else but my head is all over the place. It's now nearly March and my mammogram was on 17 th December. I contacted PALS regarding the long wait for results and unfortunately I had a letter cancelling my phone call appointment( 7th March )not long after with apologies and a letter arrived from breast surgery team saying they will contact me as soon as they can offer me a new appointment.

Then a day later I received a text message saying that my consultant is writing me a letter.?! Totally frustrated and confused, I am usually good at dealing with these things. It's highly unusual for everything to sort of go quiet apart from a letter here and a text there. From previous experience from past yearly mammograms it seems different this time around. 

I am beginning to think I should contact PALS again, all I want is for someone to let me know why it's taking so long.......If I ever get the consultants letter I think at this rate I will be too scared to open it....

Take care everyone, sorry for all my ramblings but as we all know it does help to share.

Best wishes , Guinea pig lover.x

Dear Guineapiglover,

It is hard to credit that you are still waiting on your results from 17th December. There is quite a difference between the 9 weeks that you've been waiting and the 10 days that you were advised it would take to get your results. Did you contact your consultant's secretary, as I advised you to do? This is usually the most effective way to get some action and, in my experience, usually more useful than contacting PALS in the first instance. If you explain the difference in timescales and tell her that you are going out of your mind with worry, she may be able to help. She should also be able to tell you whether or not the results have been received by the hospital, whether or not the findings have already been discussed at a multidisciplinary team meeting, Whether or not your consultant has written a letter to you yet and if not, when s/he is likely to do so.

Please try this before you resort to PALS again and I hope that you have some success this time. Please keep us in the loop and let us know how you get on. As you know, we are always here for you.

Kind regards,

Jolamine xx