Why wait so long?

I have been reminded of late just how common and prolific breast cancer is amongst the people I know; a close friend has had a scare but thank goodness after more tests she has had the good news that she is fine. Such a great outcome but it is not the case for many others. One of the worst things for me during the journey of breast cancer was the inflicted waiting periods that follow the tests and operations..... for the professionals saying 'we will see you in 2 weeks with your results' is simply a daily mantra but when your on the receiving end of this comment then waiting this length of time can be purgatory. Many women have said to me that this was the worst time for them, their imaginations would run wild, people would be insensitive and share a doom and gloom story about someone they knew, they would loose sleep, were unable to switch off and put it to the back of their mind - a very difficult situation to be in! In fact, I wonder why it is 2 weeks, why not 1 week or 10days??? Is it due to the sheer volume of tests or poor administration within the the service... I don't know the answers but would like to have some insight as to why and even challenge this traditional waiting period. What do you think?