Hi Leann 0788,

A very warm welcome to our forum.  You should receive an appointment within 2 weeks of your referral reaching the breast clinic, although the actual appointment may be a little longer. You will find the staff at these clinics are usually very understanding. Most first clinic appointments run to the same format. You are usually advised to allow about 3 hours for your visit. This is to allow you time to have any tests or scans that are needed, but it doesn't usually take as long as this.

At your first appointment, you speak to a nurse who will take your height and weigh you. You will then see a consultant who will examine your breasts and note your symptoms. You may then have a mammogram, followed by an ultrasound and then possibly a biopsy. You are then likely to see the consultant again to discuss the findings of these. If you have a biopsy there will then be another wait of 1-3 weeks for the results. When your biopsy results return, your consultant will discuss the findings with all of the medical professionals likely to be involved in your care (if it is cancer). This is called a multidisciplinary team meeting (MDT for short). Here they will decide between themselves, the best way to deal with your diagnosis. You will then usually be contacted by the clinic to give you another date to see the consultant to discuss all of this.

This is always an anxious wait and you are right to steer clear of "Dr Google". It is impossible for anyone to predict for certain whether or not there is any cancer present until you get the results of the biopsy. However, not all lumps are cancerous. Many turn out to be benign cysts, Fibroadenoma, etc. It is a fact that only 20% of those who attend the clinic will get a cancer diagnosis, so here's hoping that you'll be one of the lucky 80%!

I sincerely hope that you get an appointment soon and that nothing untoward is found. Please keep in touch and let us know how you get on. We are always here for you.
Kind regards,

Jolamine xx