Is my Mother's friend in danger? - General Health Message Board

singer1 · 09-15-2005, 07:50 PM

To make a long story short. My Mother's friend noticed a lump, they did a biopsy because they suspected breast cancer or some other kind. It took 2 weeks for them to tell her that they could not confirm the diagnosis so they sent it off to another state and said that it would be another 2 weeks before she would know anything. Meanwhile, she is so scared as you can imagin. If it is something as serious as they suspect...Breat cancer, lymphoma, or whatever, doesn't those things spread fast? I would think that the Dr's butt is on the line, but what do I know? What do you guys think?

smithn · 09-15-2005, 08:17 PM

I think it's BS. She should have gotten her initial path report within two to three days. If it was a send out, then yes, it can take up to two weeks to get the report. To wait four weeks and still no nothing is ridiculous. You tell your mother's friend to go to her doctor's office and pick up her path report so she can read for herself what it says. And the operative note, as well! Why in the world would they send the specimen to another state? They usually just send it to a larger facility within the same state? Someone is feeding her a line. Tell her to get on the phone and demand answers.

feelbad · 09-16-2005, 07:39 AM

unfortunetly some tests are only done at certain labs in other states despite what you would think.i just had a full blood work up done by my rheumy doc and i live in MN and some of the tests were actually sent all the way to Kansas.my son,who was in liver failure at the time a few years ago also had to have one of his lab tests sent to somewhere on the east coast,unfortunetly i cannot remember just where.the reason that this is actually done this way,i believe,is that some really obscure testing for specific diseases or viruses can be quite costly just by the specific equpment and the special training involved for the research people who do them.It would not really be cost effective for every single lab in every testing facility to be set up with some very expensive equpment that really is not used very often,do you know what I mean?i am sure that all of the labs have some sort of mutual agreement to be able to send each other those specific labs to be tested.unfortunetly it is the waiting patient who has to endure the result of these obscure labs that need to be done from time to time.At least you know that they are being very thorough,its just the waiting that makes you crazy.I know, I have been there too,and it really does suck.when any lab tests come in and the news is not good, always ask for a retest with new tissue if possible.we just had a poor woman in st paul who had had a biopsy done on a lump in one of her breasts to determine if it was cancer.Believe it or not, the test came back positive for a supposed very rapid spreading cancer so the choice was made to actually remove both of her breasts,Well after the surgery was done and the removed breast tissue was sent to pathology(which is routine when any tissue is actually removed from a persons body espescially when cancerous)it was then that they found out that the surgeon had just removed two totally healthy breasts!!it was determined that the lab tech who had actually done the test,screwed up big time and actually somehow switched her results with another patient so this poor woman went through hell and back and a very radical mastectomy on breasts that were not cancerous at all.Just imagine going through that.and the other unfortuneate woman who actually had the cancer was very delayed in any treatment because she was given a clean bill of health.This is such a sad and horrible story but it really does show the impotance of double checking any sort of tests when the news is not good.I am hoping the results of your friends tests will be good news and come back asap.please let me know how it goes,K? FB

singer1 · 09-16-2005, 05:43 PM

WoW! What a story feelbad!! I already have a very low percenatge rate of trust in doctors and then after reading this!! I just think that many doctors today just don't care much about their patients. They don't want to get to know them. The patient comes in with a complaint and you're lucky if they do any MRI's or xrays anymore because they just want to medicate you and send you on your way. I have been dealing with one swollen ankle...not bad but again, it is different than my right one. I can't even get an answer to my question and that is, in heart failure does the swelling affect both feet and legs? You think that would be an easy question but no one seems to know! Maybe I just live in a state full of dummies! I will keep you posted on my Mother's friend.