Lumps in liver - long wait for appt
Discussion
My sister recently had a routine scan done outside the NHS (one of these wellbeing checkups). That found a lump in her liver, so she went to her GP and got referred for an ultrasound. That found 2 lumps, one about 3cm and one - more alarmingly - about 11cm. No symptoms and IIRC blood test showed liver function is currently OK.
Obviously she's worried about what it might be. She's an ex-nurse, so she knows the benign and malign possibilities. But, she has found out she must wait 11 weeks for an appt with the relevant NHS consultant (or possibly, of course, a junior on the same team). From prior experience, I assume that will be the usual 10min chat, and only after that will a referral for a more detailed investigation (MRI, biopsy?) be made. Which means another wait.
Quandary: wait for the NHS wheels to grind along? Somehow pester the NHS (is this even possible?) to do something sooner given the chance this is serious? Go private NOW.
Your thoughts please.
TIA
Obviously she's worried about what it might be. She's an ex-nurse, so she knows the benign and malign possibilities. But, she has found out she must wait 11 weeks for an appt with the relevant NHS consultant (or possibly, of course, a junior on the same team). From prior experience, I assume that will be the usual 10min chat, and only after that will a referral for a more detailed investigation (MRI, biopsy?) be made. Which means another wait.
Quandary: wait for the NHS wheels to grind along? Somehow pester the NHS (is this even possible?) to do something sooner given the chance this is serious? Go private NOW.
Your thoughts please.
TIA
Edited by completetangent on Monday 19th November 13:21
I recently had a 6cm cyst identified on the left lobe of my liver during an MRI scan (renal system for arterial narrowing - stenosis?). The preliminary opinion was that it is benign but that I might benefit from a chat with a gastroenterologist but progress on this has lacked any urgency, I presume as a result of their initial diagnosis.
Has there been any feedback as to what these lumps might be (benign or otherwise)?
(BTW, no medical background)
Has there been any feedback as to what these lumps might be (benign or otherwise)?
(BTW, no medical background)
I don't believe she's had any other info at all (so far - she's just been back to the GP once after the NHS ultrasound). So she feels as if she's in limbo while waiting. The presence - and then size - of the second lump was a shock.
Hence the Q about getting things moving more quickly (even if it is just to find out it's benign and there's nothing significant to worry about).
Hence the Q about getting things moving more quickly (even if it is just to find out it's benign and there's nothing significant to worry about).
A Two Week Rule (TWR) referral is made when it is thought to be possible/plausible/likely that a patient has cancer, and is designed to get them seen and diagnosed as quickly as possible.
Not getting a TWR referral is about as good a sign as you can possibly have.
The faster appointments are for the poor buggers who are thought to be in danger of being killed by their lumps and bumps, in short. 11 weeks feels long but it'd only be allowed to be that long if the relevant people are really, really sure that it's not going to get worse or threaten her health in this time. Basically, sit tight and wait it out. You don't need a quicker appointment, and you don't want to need one either.
Not getting a TWR referral is about as good a sign as you can possibly have.
The faster appointments are for the poor buggers who are thought to be in danger of being killed by their lumps and bumps, in short. 11 weeks feels long but it'd only be allowed to be that long if the relevant people are really, really sure that it's not going to get worse or threaten her health in this time. Basically, sit tight and wait it out. You don't need a quicker appointment, and you don't want to need one either.
Thanks, BVD. That helps and I've done some reading on that now.
So not being fast-tracked by the TWR is, on one hand, quite comforting. It shows that the GP is not immediately concerned. But on the other hand, there's a potential downside. Some clinicians within the NHS have looked retrospecively at the data and found that the two track process sends some patients down the slow track who eventually turn out to have cancer, but who got seen considerably later than they would have been under the old single-track NHS process. (Published in BMJ.)
Needs some thought.
Will talk to my sister this evening and cover the going-private option (at least for investigation/diagnosis).
So not being fast-tracked by the TWR is, on one hand, quite comforting. It shows that the GP is not immediately concerned. But on the other hand, there's a potential downside. Some clinicians within the NHS have looked retrospecively at the data and found that the two track process sends some patients down the slow track who eventually turn out to have cancer, but who got seen considerably later than they would have been under the old single-track NHS process. (Published in BMJ.)
Needs some thought.
Will talk to my sister this evening and cover the going-private option (at least for investigation/diagnosis).
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