Queensland women share concerns on long wait times for diagnostic breast cancer tests

Queensland women with lumps in their breasts are being subjected to wait times in excess of a month for scans to find out if they are cancerous or not. See what medical experts are calling for as the solution.

Australian Medical Association union president, Dr Nick Yim backs calls for immediate fix to diagnostic breast cancer delays. Picture: Russell Shakespeare.

Queensland women with lumps in their breasts are being subjected to wait times in excess of a month for scans to find out if they are cancerous or not.

Experts say that the issue is not only one of being given timely treatment if a cancer is confirmed, but the torturous waits are damaging women's’ mental health.

Australian Medical Association Queensland president Dr Nick Yim said the issue was most pronounced in regional areas.

Dr Yim said many doctors are concerned about significant wait times for diagnostic tests and the high risk of a delayed diagnosis.

He said enduring weeks of uncertainty while waiting for answers can feel overwhelming and even “traumatic” for women who have found a lump.

Dr Michael Clements. Picture: Supplied

“We know this is a particular problem for women seeking breast cancer diagnostic services,” he said.

“This is a statewide issue caused by our chronic workforce shortage but is worse in regional and rural communities.”

Dr Yim said there were “simply not enough” healthcare professionals to meet the demand, including radiologists, radiographers and sonographers.

“Patients are struggling to access the services required for diagnosis and treatment when a routine screen indicates further investigations are needed,” he said.

The Townsville Bulletin has spoken to one woman, who asked not to be named after navigating the fraught system, that was referred for a scan and a mammogram following the discovery of a lump in her breast.

The woman, who is the mother of a young child and has previously been treated for cancer, contacted six different providers across South East Queensland and was told the earliest she would be seen was April 17.

“To be told that I needed to wait weeks and weeks for a scan would send anyone insane,” she said.

“It is in the back of your head the whole time wondering ‘do I have breast cancer? Am I going to be around to see my daughter grow up?’

“I can hardly believe that this crisis is happening in our country.

“Right now there are women out there who have breast cancer and do not know it yet because they cannot get in for a scan.”

BreastScreen Queensland does not see women who already have symptoms – such as lumps – or women aged under 40.

Long serving Townsville GP Dr Michael Clements said investigative tests, which needed to be done following the discovery of a lump or other symptoms, “certainly do take a long time” with a skills shortage being a major factor.

Female patient receiving breast scan, radiographer looking at medical image on screen

“We have very long waits for some things here in Townsville and in particular ultrasounds and biopsies using the ultrasounds do take a long time, that’s because it’s so specialised,” he said.

“The skill that it takes of the ultrasounds sonographer and also the doctors involved in actually sampling the lump, those skills are hard to find, we don’t have a lot of them here in the region and hence people are waiting a long time.”

Dr Clements also said the costs of tests was another reason for increased wait times with some women having to fork out up to $500 at a time.

There are private centres in Townsville that do investigative cancer tests, such as Queensland XRay and I-Med, Townsville University Hospital is also an option but usually has a longer wait time.

In the lead up to Queensland’s state budget Dr Yim said the AMAQ was calling on the government to urgently increase investment in key areas of women’s health, particularly breast cancer detection and diagnostic services.

“We know that people who wait too long to be diagnosed have poorer outcomes,” he said.

Anyone seeking clinical, psychosocial and emotional support right through cancer treatment, for free, no matter the type of cancer can contact a McGrath Cancer Care Nurse at the Townsville University Hospital on 07 4433 3341.

Originally published as Queensland women share concerns on long wait times for diagnostic breast cancer tests