UPDATE: Struggling to get proper Healthcare in TO for my boyfriend's growing lump

Original post from 5 months ago: https://www.reddit.com/r/askTO/s/IU9uIsEgXQ

First off, I just want to say a huge thank you to everyone who took the time to comment, share advice, and message us with support. The response was overwhelming, and we truly appreciate all the kindness and guidance.

Here’s what’s happened since my original post:

We had another appointment with my boyfriend’s family doctor immediately after the original post. We went in fully prepared with questions (thanks to a lot of you!) and made it clear that we were deeply concerned about the rapid growth of the lump and the lack of urgency in getting a specialist referral. After some pushing, the doctor admitted that he had not yet sent the referral to a general surgeon—despite telling us he would five weeks ago.

At that point, we insisted on next steps immediately. He finally sent a referral while we were in the office and also agreed to request a biopsy. We waited a couple days and called the hospital where the referral was sent to and they said they had not received any referral at all. We decided we couldn’t afford to wait any longer.

Following the advice of many of you, we went to the ER.

The ER doctors took things way more seriously than the family doctor. They ordered new imaging, including an urgent ultrasound and bloodwork, and within a few hours, a specialist was reviewing the results. At this point we still don’t have a full diagnosis and the doctors confirmed the lump is significant in size and needed further testing. The decision was made to go in to remove the lump via an incision in his left posterior upper thigh. Unfortunately, once the surgeon was inside, they realized the lump could not be easily removed and therefore took a biopsy and closed the incision and ordered an MRI. My partner was discharged the same day and we went home to recover to wait for the biopsy result. Unfortunately the biopsy results were inconclusive and they still could not rule out cancer. 

They’ve since referred us to oncology for a more thorough assessment, and things are finally moving faster than before. Since then, my partner has had his MRI and last week went in to review the results which I will share below:

"HISTORY: Left posterior, upper thigh/inferior buttock mass. Visible on ultrasound but not seen at surgery.

MRI IMPRESSION: There is a solid, enhancing, ovoid, circumscribed mass in the intermuscular plane between the proximal portion of the long head of the biceps muscle and the lower left gluteus maximus muscle. The mass is clearly separate from the left sciatic nerve. There is no muscular invasion in the mass is completely surrounded by a fat plane. There may be small nerve twigs entering and exiting the mass but the finding is equivocal. A nerve sheath tumor is the leading consideration but malignant forms cannot be excluded without further evaluation. There is mild edema and metallic artifact in the subcutaneous fat of the posterior medial left thigh which is presumably the site of the patient's previous surgical incision."

Had we just waited for the GP’s referral, we would probably still be stuck in limbo. Going to the ER was 100% the right move.

We’re now in the process of scheduling surgery to finally proceed with excision, and while we don’t have all the answers yet, we feel like we’re finally on the right track.

Again, thank you to everyone who urged us to push for better care. If anyone else is in a similar situation, don’t be afraid to advocate for yourself or your loved ones—the healthcare system can be frustratingly slow, and sometimes you have to be the one to make things happen.

I’ll update again when we have more news. ❤️

P.S. We have since switched family doctors and no longer are patients of Stockyards Medical Family Practice & Walk In Clinic.