The Primrose Breast Care Centre, based at University Hospitals Plymouth, brings together Surgeons, Radiologists, Radiographers, Nurses, and an administrative team all focussed on the diagnosis and treatment of breast care, including cancer. All staff are there to support anyone who is referred to the service.

And just because you are referred into Primrose doesn’t necessarily mean you have breast cancer. There are several reasons a patient may be referred, including:

Breast Pain
Nipple discharge – especially associated with recurrent infection
Troublesome cysts
Breast abscesses or infection
Implant integrity
Gynaecomastia (a common condition that causes male breasts to swell and become larger than normal)
Diagnosis of a lump, most of which are not cancer

So, while the service does provide cancer diagnosis, plus the subsequent care and treatment for those who are diagnosed, they also offer a wide range of other important services too. In addition to a GP referral process you may be invited to breast screening: whether that’s a routine mammogram, a five-year post-operative mammogram, or family history screening.

Here Jane tells us about her painful lump referral and experience.

I was recently referred to The Primrose Centre after finding a painful lump in my breast. After a consultation with my GP, it was agreed it would be advisable to have the lump reviewed. A couple of weeks later I was waiting to speak to the team at Primrose.

This was not the first time I had been referred to Primrose, but it was nonetheless still a nervous wait, from the discovery of the lump to sitting in the waiting room of the Primrose, the worry that it might be a form of cancer is of course at the forefront of your mind.

The patient waiting area is a very calm and welcoming space at a potentially stressful and worrying time – I later learned that this was all funded by The Primrose Foundation, everything from the colourful chairs to the ambient lighting was all funded by the charity. This very centre exists today because of the generous support of those living locally.

Having been seen on arrival for a consultation with one of the centre’s breast surgeons, I was told that my lump was very likely to be a cyst. I was very fortunate to be seen immediately for a screening mammogram to clarify this. Subsequently, I then underwent an ultrasound of both breasts, before electing to have the troublesome cyst removed that day.

I feel hugely grateful that I was able to have all these consultations in one location and to be able to undergo treatment all within one appointment. On a personal level, this massively reduced the potential worry of waiting or having to be referred to other departments at a time when you feel especially vulnerable.

My advice is this; Whilst I understand it is an anxious time finding a lump, bump or change to your breast, it doesn’t necessarily mean it's anything sinister. In fact, statistically, on average, the breast service at Derriford Hospital sees an average of 300 patients every week, and out of those patients around 11 people are diagnosed with breast cancer. So please, if you do spot something that doesn’t look or feel right, get it checked out.

And if it is something that requires a bit of attention then the team at Primrose will do their very best to offer you the best breast care available.

A Referral to Primrose Doesn’t Always Mean it Could be Cancer