Waiting and worried

Hi all

I found a small lump on the base of my throat about a week ago and contacted my GP straight away.

They have referred me to the hospital where they're going to perform an ultrasound examination.

That's fine, but I received the letter today and have been told the examination will take place at the end of March.

If I'm honest, I'm terrified. It's going to be an anxious wait until then. Is such a long wait normal?

Not sure if I should take any comfort from the fact it's over a month away.

  • Hello Mr_Benn

    I'm sorry to hear that you've recently found a lump. We know that waiting for tests can be a stressful time.

    Do keep an eye on things and if you have any concerns or the lump changes then get back in touch with your GP. 
    Best wishes, 
    Jenn
    Cancer Chat moderator

  • Hi Ben

    I'm in a similar situation to you - lump found on my neck and waiting for the scan dates. Hopefully the time will fly by for the both of us! 
    In my area there is a 2 week wait pathway for suspected cancer which means you need to be seen in that time frame. It might not be the same where you are but I'd say it sounds positive if they're happy to wait until March.
     

    All the best  

  • Thanks Jenn,

    After this, I did speak to my doctor. I've had a whole bunch of blood tests done at the same time and they have come back as fine.

    I'm hoping that this is just me being worried for nothing, especially as I don't seem to have any other symptoms. However, the doctor initially said I'd be seen in three weeks and a wait of 6 weeks just threw me into a panic. 

     

    Let's hope for the best.

  • Hi Shazz

    Thanks for the message. Sorry to hear you're in the same boat too.

    Yes, I'm hoping that's the case. As noted above, my doctor seemed quite positive when I spoke to her last and my blood tests have all come back fine, so fingers crossed it's all ok.

    Hope you get the results you are hoping for and everything is ok.

  • I fancied writing again today as I'm feeling a bit low.

    I had the ultrasound 4 weeks ago and they found a tumour on my thyroid that requires further investigation. They explained that they'd first of all like to do a biopsy. 

    Initially, my appointment was going to be in May, then it moved to end of March and is now mid-to-late April. However, whether it goes ahead or not is another thing.

    While obviously the NHS has quite a big thing to deal with at the moment, there is a part of me which feels slightly abandoned. 12 weeks + of not knowing whether you have cancer or not is quite a mental strain and leads one to assume that your life or death isn't really a priority. I suppose it's more a powerlessness that really gets you as your fate could well be in their hands  and so far they've spent 10 minutes looking at a problem and confirming what I already knew at the outset.

    Hopefully the biopsy wil go ahead in a couple of weeks time and the result will be that the tumour is benign. Will post again once I know the result.