I was diagnosed on 18th September with stage 1 triple negative breast cancer and I am still waiting for my treatment to start. Is it usual to take this long? I have waited 6 weeks so far and everything seems to be crawling along and I am getting worried that the treatment will start too late. Since the diagnosis I have had to have a vacuum assisted biopsy, a blood test, an MRI scan. I did meet the surgeon and MacMillan nurse this week and he said that I need a CT scan to check it hasn’t spread to bones or lungs then I will meet the oncology team who tell me about the treatment I will receive. I do fully appreciate and understand that lots of tests need to happen to get the most effective treatment, but for every appointment I am told that it will be within the 2 week standard, which is good, but every appointment has a 2 week standard and all these 2 weeks are building up. When I see the oncology team, then I will have been waiting 8 weeks since diagnosis. I did tell the breast surgeon that I was now worried by the timescale as 6 weeks had now passed. They reassured me that everyone concerned in my treatment was aware of me as I had been discussed at their meetings, but I just feel like this is taking ages now. They have told me that I will start treatment with 4-6 months of chemotherapy before they can decide on the type of surgery needed. I have to keep reminding myself that they have told me it is stage 1 and is not in my lymph nodes, so that is good, but I am so worried that it is being given time to spread as it is aggressive.
Hi Lilycat
When I was diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer just over four years ago I didn't start treatment until 7 weeks after I was diagnosed. As far as I'm aware my cancer didn't spread while I was waiting. I suggest that you ring your breast care nurse to talk to them about how you are feeling. They should be able to reassure you.
Wishing you the best of luck with your treatment when it starts.
Best wishes
Daisy53
