"Positive experience at the breast clinic"

I had such a positive experience at the breast clinic yesterday and I wanted to say thank you. Everyone I came into contact was friendly, introduced themselves and told me exactly what was going to happen. 

I was nervous when I arrived as I knew the appointment could take up to 3 hours and could follow a variety of routes. I was immediately put at ease by the doctor I saw who explained what would happen and when and that I would see her last before leaving the clinic.

I'd never had a mammogram before and Gemma talked me through each step of the process. She asked me what I liked to be called which I thought was very thoughtful. She kept asking permission to go to the next stage and reiterating where in the process we were without being patronising or repetitive. She was very intuitive and seemed to be able to work out how much information was the right amount at the right time. 

I also had an ultrasound and an attempt to drain a cyst. This was unsuccessful as the cyst was so deep and I know the doctor was frustrated but she was calm and apologetic about repeated attempts and only tried again with my permission. She was slightly short with the two nurses but very polite to me. It would have been better if she'd said please and thank you to her colleagues. I understand it must be a very stressful environment, though, and they did tell me they'd had a very busy clinic that day. 

This was such a positive experience of a potentially stressful situation that I felt quite emotional telling my friend about it. The staff's attitudes and approach made it far less stressful than it could have been. Thank to all of them and particularly to Gemma. I hope that you pass this on.