Breast cancer survivor ‘living in fear’ after waiting a year for mastectomy and breast reconstruction
A South Yorkshire woman is facing a terrifying wait for a life-saving mastectomy, despite being at high genetic risk for breast cancer.
Tracy Crawford, aged 59, says she is “living on borrowed time” as she waits for the operation.
After battling cancer 10 years ago, Tracy underwent a lumpectomy.
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Recently, genetic testing revealed she carries a PALB2 mutation, a gene that dramatically increases her risk of contracting cancer again.
Her mother and sister also both battled breast cancer, and she fears she could follow the same path.
“I feel like I’m living on borrowed time,” Tracy said.
“I’ve already been through cancer once. I don’t want to lose my life, but every day I wait, that fear just grows. I can’t sleep, I’ve lost weight, and it’s weighing heavily on me,” she explained.
Her daughters have already undergone preventative mastectomies, but Tracy says her own procedure is being by a two-year waiting list for the specific type of reconstruction surgery she wants.
After previous cancer treatment, she says her options are extremely limited - most other forms of surgery would leave her flat-chested, a prospect she is not mentally ready for.
“After what I’ve been through with cancer, I’m not ready for that - I need to feel whole again,” said Tracy, from Clowne, Chesterfield.
“Losing my breast without reconstruction would be another trauma.”
She describes the process as a rollercoaster of hope and heartbreak.
She said she was initially told a new plastic surgeon in Sheffield had no waiting list, so she prepared for surgery - attending appointments, completing consent forms, and even buying pre-op compression bras - only to be later informed that there was a waiting list.
“I’ve been waiting for 13 months now,” she said.
“Every scan, every check-up, I’m terrified it will be the last time I get good news.
“Even a harmless lump shakes me to my core.
“I’m constantly worrying, it’s exhausting.”
A spokesperson for Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust acknowledged the delay.
Chief Medical Officer Jane McNicholas said: “We are very sorry that Ms Crawford has waited longer than we would like and understand her frustration with the situation.
“Ms Crawford was referred to us from Chesterfield because she wished to have preventative surgery which included a particular type of complex reconstruction.
“The issue was not with the preventative surgery, it is the particular type of reconstruction that has the longer waiting time.
“Unfortunately, we currently have very high demand for this complex reconstruction procedure which is carried out by a small specialist team and patients are seen in priority order of clinical urgency, with those patients who have active cancer being treated first.
“While the average waiting time is not two years, we acknowledge that the wait time is longer than we would like in some instances and we are taking steps to recruit additional surgeons to address this.
“We have advised Ms Crawford that she could access risk reducing surgery sooner at Chesterfield Hospital, but with alternative forms of reconstruction.
“We appreciate that this is a personal choice and may not be her preferred option.
“We are very sorry that we cannot currently offer Ms Crawford a date for surgery as quickly as we would like and also for the times when our communication and administration should have been clearer.”