Hi Hayley,

A very warm welcome to the forum that nobody really wants to join. I am so sorry to hear about your worries and, just want to assure you that these are perfectly normal and something that nearly all of us suffer at some time. We tend to feed this fear by always looking at the worst case scenario. Fortunately, this seldom comes to pass.

Just a word of warning, you don't always get a diagnosis at your first appointment. It is more usual to undergo some tests and to have a biopsy. It usually takes 1-2 weeks to get the results of this.

I have had 2 bouts of breast cancer in the past 11 years and found that I felt calmer irrespective of the outcome (I've had both good and bad news), once I knew what I was dealing with. Treatments have made tremendous strides forward in the past few years. My Mum died 21 years before I was diagnosed and, there was just no comparison between the diagnosis, treatment and after care which we both recieved. Instead of dying with cancer, many are now living with it.

It is also a fact that more older people are diagnosed than younger ones and, only 1 person in every 8 referred to the clinic will recieve a cancer diagnosis. This means that your odds are good.

Do please let us know how you get on. We are always here for you.

Fingers crossed for good news.

Kind regards,

Jolamine xx