breast cancer
 

has any one here been treated for breast cancer while living in spain if so how long did you have to wait for appointments etc

Re: breast cancer
 

I didn't but a friend of mine did.

She experienced very little waiting both in testing, operation and treatment (chemotherapy and radiotherapy).

I was very impressed by the treatment she received. She still has checkup visits to the hospital but has been in remission for a year.

Re: breast cancer
 

Welcome to the Spanish section of BE.

I know that someone talked about their experiences of the treatment on here some time ago so I will look for the link for you.

My neighbour was treated immediately, with loads of different treatments and has been cancer free for 3 or 4 years and looks tremendous. She has yearly checkups and has a very normal life. Obviously waiting times etc can vary from one area to another but I believe that they are very quick to react throughout Spain. If you want to PM me for someone to chat to, to offload your feelings, have a grouch or anything please feel free to do so.

Rosemary

Re: breast cancer
 

Forgot to say in my post that you will not be able to send or receive PM´s until you have put in a few more posts.

It may also be helpful if you told us which area you live in as you have asked about the care of breast cancer patients in a general way. Are you in the system already or are you under private insurance as this will affect how people answer your question.

Rosemary

Re: breast cancer
 

Thanks for replies

Live costa del sol (mijas) not private health care, was wondering wether to a get tests done private and costs of this.
had routine mammo in december received letter saying the had found disturbing changes and i would need a follow up in 6 months just had that follow up two weeks ago, told the clinic about changes in breast, no lumps and she put info into computor and said they would go to the doctor
just wondering how long they take here compared to uk (had a cousin with the same sort of thing, not getting diagnose until way too late)

Re: breast cancer
 

I think that you should make an appointment with your doctor to find out what the next step is. You need to be the one being pro-active so that things do not slip. In the Valencia area they are very fast and very thorough but I do not know what they are like in your area. Hopefully someone with knowledge of your area will help with info soon. You say that you are not private health care so are you paying into the system or old enough to gain free health care?

Rosemary

Re: breast cancer
 

Sorry I can't help with information about the likely timescales in the Spanish public health system, as I have private health insurance. However, I thought you might be interested to hear about timescales under the private system, if you are considering paying for private tests it might be help to make up your mind one way or the other.

I first had a mammo here in Spain just over 2 years ago, and they did an ultrasound as well to confirm the result. A cluster of microcalcifications showed up, I was told it was probably benign but they would do further ultrasounds on a six-monthly basis to monitor any changes. I had only had 1 mammo in the UK previously, 3 years before, and that did not pick up anything.

I have had the ultrasounds since, and had another mammo in March this year. The gynaecologist said that the microcalcifications were now much more evident than before, and said I should have a stereotactic biopsy. I got authorisation for this from the insurance company within 24 hours, waited about a week for an appointment and then almost 2 weeks for the result. After an anxious time, I was relieved to hear that no malignancy had been found.

However, the gynaecologist advised that I should have the microcalcifications surgically removed to minimise the risk of more problems in the future. I was unsure at first whether I wanted to go ahead, and took a week to think it over. Then I went back and said OK I would see the surgeon for a consultation, she gave me a referral note and I rang the surgeon's office on a Thursday and was given an appointment for the following Tuesday. The surgeon was really nice and took the time to explain very clearly the procedure and the reasons why he felt it was advisable, so I felt reassured and agreed to go ahead. I then had to go away and get some pre-operative tests done as I would be having a general anaesthetic (chest X-ray, ECG and blood test). They were all authorised and carried out within 5 days. I took the results of these tests back to the surgeon on Thursday 12 May and he said they were fine, and could I come into the clinic on Monday 16 May for the operation? After a swift intake of breath (I wasn't expecting it to be quite so quick!) I said yes, and the operation was done on the 16th I spent one night in the clinic and was discharged the next day. Everything went very well and I saw the surgeon again for a check-up on Tuesday of this week. He explained that they had done a further biopsy on the tissue that was removed which confirmed that it was benign, and he has asked to see me again in 6 months' time for a further ultrasound.

And all this was for a benign condition - it might have moved even faster had I been diagnosed with breast cancer.

Whether you have treatment under the public health system (and I have heard nothing but good things about it, but unfortunately I'm not entitled to it at present as I'm not a pensioner, nor a dependant of one, nor do I pay into the social security system) or have the tests done privately, I hope that your outcome will be good. I found it helped me to try not to worry about it too much, carry on with my normal routine and keep busy - easier said than done, I know, when you are so anxious. I wish you the best of luck.

Re: breast cancer
 

Tried to give you Karma for sharing but told I cannot. I am sure that you will have helped gringa greatly with explaining your situation and experiences.

Rosemary

Re: breast cancer
 

Some wait times here for the Andalucian health service

http://www.theolivepress.es/spain-ne...aiting-around/

Re: breast cancer
 

I had a Hernia op, about a month from doctors visit to home after op, that included visit to specialist and about a week reducing blood pressure before op.

Re: breast cancer
 

A girl I know is in the top 40 for 5 college scholarships of a substantial amount. One of the determiners is hit count on youtube of part of her breast cancer awareness video. If you have a sec, could you check it out?

http://www.youtube.com/user/daytonbc.../2/zf9hKi0ik0M

Re: breast cancer
 

A lady who I know was diagnosed with breast cancer, the treatment she has recieved at Motril has been so fast and really first class, she is not even a resident and they have put her into the system and treated her free, she has not had to return to the uk for op or followup treatment, which is surprising, but she is very impressed with the treatment she has had and is recieving still.