THE DAY THAT I WILL NEVER FORGET
Written Aug 18, 2012 9:49pm
August 17, 2012 @ 3:08pm That is a date and time that I will never forget. That is when I received the call that I had nervously been waiting for.
I will back track for a minute here. This past week has been a roller coaster. There have been times when it seemed to fly by, and other times when everything seemed to be in slow motion. I went to see my family doctor on Thursday, August the 9th and during a routine exam she said that I had an indent in my right breast and because of family history she recommended a mammogram. I had a diagnostic mammogram on Tuesday and after 4 views I was asked to wait while the tech talked to the radiologist. When she came back in she told me that she needed to take a couple more pictures. I was then again asked to wait and to not get dressed yet. This is when I started to have a small amount of worry sneaking in on me. She again came in and said that she needed a couple more views. Again I was asked to wait while she went to talk to the radiologist. I was then escorted to another room when she told me I would be having an ultra sound. Another tech came in the room and started. After a while she told me to stay there while she went to speak to the radiologist. Now the worry was really starting to set in.
This time when the tech came back in she had the doctor with her. He said that he wanted to take another look. When he was finished he asked me to get dressed and then said that the tech would bring me to his office to talk. By this time I am starting to get upset.
Once in his office he brings up mammogram images of my breast on multiple screens and starts pointing out an area that in his words “was very worrisome” He said that based on the irregular shape, shadows, and the indent on the skin that I needed to be scheduled right away for a biopsy. He walked me out to the front desk and asked them to schedule me for a biopsy the next morning. I was now officially scared.
My husband took off work the next day so he could go with me for the biopsy. My mom, step-dad, and older sister all met us there for moral support even though we would not know anything for sure that day.
I was called to the back and everything started pretty quickly. Once the biopsy was complete the radiologist asked me to go ahead and choose a surgeon that I would like to see.
I received a call from my family doctor’s office that evening which shocked me because it was after hours. They told me that I had already been scheduled for an appointment with a surgeon and that based on my tests that they felt that there was a 95% or greater chance that this was breast cancer. They would know for sure what we were dealing with on Friday.
Now back to Friday at 3:08pm. The radiologist calls me and said that he has been talking back and forth with the pathologist all day and he wanted to let me know that it was definitely breast cancer. He said that I have a rare type that does not show up on mammograms when the cancer is still early. He told me that it is a “sneaky” cancer that hides. He then said that I would need to see a surgeon right away and that in addition to the surgery they decide to do (mastectomy or lumpectomy) they would also be removing lymph nodes to test.
debbiepinkstrong 