Last year, my aunt went to a seminar and was offered free mammogram and found to have lumps in her breasts. So, she went back to the same doctor who then suggested biopsy. Turned out, the tiny lumps are cancerous. She was given 2 options: remove lumps only or removal whole breasts.
Initially, the doc recommended removal of lumps only. After some discussion and knowing my aunt's fear of cancer recurrence, the recommendation changed to whole breasts removal. I personally feel that my aunt will not be able to take the blow if she undergo removal for whole breasts as my aunt is very vain. Anyway, I managed to talk my aunt out of whole breasts removal.
After the lumps removal, we found out that the cancer was actually at Stage 0. This means that there is absolutely no need to remove the whole breasts. At this stage, the recurrence rate between the 2 are similar.
The doctor then recommend that my aunt be on medications and annual breast scans. Medications cost $600++ per month for the next 5 years.
My aunt then got a referral from the polyclinic to govt hospital and presented all her medical history and the specialist at the govt hospital who told us that given my aunt's condition, there is no need for my aunt to be on medications at all and he recommends an annual breast check. We asked the price if my aunt is to be on medications and it cost only $70 per month.
Therefore, I will recommend that you good to go to the polyclinic and get your breasts checked there first. You can get a referral letter to see a specialist in the hospital if need to once the results are out. Should the lump be cancerous *touch wood* and require further treatment, there will be subsidy available. I personally feel that specialists in govt hospital are less motivated by revenue and are less likely to recommend you procedures you may not need to increase their revenue. In addition, medications are way cheaper, compared to specialists in private practice.
HTHs.
