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Wait time from diagnosis to surgery

Posted by cathd @cathd, Nov 1, 2023

I was diagnosed on 9-25 and will meet with a surgeon on 11-9. She is scheduling surgeries for December and January, depending upon priority.

Dx is Stage 1, Grade 1 with mild cortical thickening of one lymph node, as per ultrasound. MRI showed no lymph node involvement.

I know I am extremely fortunate to have caught this so early. However, I plan to ask for double mastectomy to avoid radiation and hormonal therapies because I am older, etc.

Does this sound like a long time to wait for surgery? Does anyone have something similar to share?

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Breast Cancer Support Group.

kstar077 | @kstar077 | Nov 3, 2023
In reply to @cathd "Thanks to all of you for your thoughtful responses. The Day I posted my question was..." + (show)
@cathd

Thanks to all of you for your thoughtful responses.
The Day I posted my question was after I had called the nurse navigator to ask for a ballpark date for surgery - trying to schedule around it, etc. - and was alarmed when I found out the wait time. However after thinking about it, and as Laurie said above, taking time to prepare would be nice. On the other hand, I don't want to wait until I have no options regarding oncology.
I think you have all given me good advice and I will know better how to proceed after I talk with the surgeon next Thursday. She is with the hospital where I prefer to be treated - but there are more timely options available at other hospitals as well.
Blessings to all of you!

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Mine was 11mm on ultra sound and on mri after biopsy was 9mm. Then at surgery after 2 months was 13mm. They did not see initially on mammo and dis not see on ultra sound. I felt it after yearly mammo and ultrasound. Scary because if I did not feel it it was not seen on mammo or ultrasound. Yikes! You have to be. Your own advocate. By the times I had my surgery it had grown 3mm.

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kstar077 | @kstar077 | Nov 3, 2023
In reply to @kstar077 "All did not have OR available for two months. I had surgery and now just dealing..." + (show)
@kstar077

All did not have OR available for two months. I had surgery and now just dealing with a reoccurring seroma. Do you know anyone that has that problem and what did they do about it? I keep having it aspirated and less comes out everything.

Jump to this post

Had seroma aspirated for 8th time today. Only 1/2 Cc came out. Next check on nov.20th. I hope is healed by then.

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jessicanell | @jessicanell | Nov 4, 2023

If you live near a teaching hospital or another good hospital specializing in cancer get a 2nd opinion.

You will not need to see the surgeon likely ever again was my thinking and so you want the best you can get.

I had a trip planned after I received my diagnosis and so had an mri and ultrasound to make sure the size of the tumor and lymph node involvement was as they thought. I had about 6-7 weeks from diagnosis to surgery. Went on my trip. I reasoned too that I didn’t want to do my surgery over holidays (for me 4th of July) because the staff and drs would likely be 2nd strong. Sorry! True!

What you need to understand is that what you now know about your tumor and diagnosis can shift based on the pathology of your tumor. And any genetic testing.

Im 52. Because im “young” they still wanted to radiate my 1A cancer with Oncotype DX score 0. I thought I would want a mastectomy but when I understood for my type of cancer the prognosis was no different and how invasive a surgery mastectomy is I opted for a lumpectomy and reduction and lift. It’s covered by insurance.

Radiation was tough. 15 days. But generally just inconvenient and made me emotional and tired.

My guess is you will need to be on Tamoxifen or Anastrozole no matter what.

Everyone: take Anastrozole at night!!! It makes you drowsy. Or it does me.

My tumor that they thought was 8mm was 12mm. No lymph involvement. No chemo.

They say sometimes the lymph nodes look involved after biopsy.

Your cancer sounds slow growing and small. The best thing is to get the right surgeon and then a great team.

Wishing you the best!

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