I was having a hard time sleeping around mid-December and for some unknown reason tapped both my boobs as laid there in bed. One felt hard and the other soft. It felt weird so I wondered if maybe the left one had a lump. About this same time I was having other strange things happen to my body, like my toes were turning red and swelling. I made an appointment with my OBGYN, Dr. Joan Eggert for a few weeks later. I made it through the Christmas Holiday without telling anyone my suspicions.
When I finally got into Dr. Eggert, she had an intern helping her that day so the intern and Dr. Eggert checked my breast lump and did a pap smear. Dr. Eggert prescribed a "diagnostic mammogram and ultrasound" and well has several blood tests. About 10 days later I did those tests and when the results didn't indicate cancer necessarily, I needed a biopsy and Dr. Eggert recommended Karen Tormey, a surgeon.
It took three weeks to get into Dr. Tormey. I wasn't sleeping and was about to check myself into the funny farm at the point I finally was able to meet with her. My scheduled appointment was still four or five days out, but I called Dr. Eggert's office and let them know I was completely messed up and they got me in to Tormey a few days earlier than planned. Tormey gave me three choices - 1) Wait and see what happened with the "mass"; 2) Have an excisional biopsy (cut it out); 3) Have a needle biopsy (take out a chunk or two). I, being the get her done kind of gal I am, said I wanted the excisional biopsy, thinking that it would be out and I wouldn't have to deal with it again. Dr. Tormey called me the night before the surgery and added that she wanted a guide wire which I agreed to.
The excisional biopsy was scheduled for February 5. I went to the DRMC Health and Performance Center in the early morning and they put my I.V. in without a hitch. YAY! Then I was transported by ambulance up to the InstaCare building (about a block away) where they did an ultrasound and inserted a guide wire. This was by far the worst part of my day. They had me sit in a chair with my boob in the mammogram slammer for 5 minutes while they numbed my boob, inserted a needle and then a wire into the needle then removed the needle, leaving the wire as a guide to where the mass was. It was bloody, hot and uncomfortable. Cliff had been sent out to a waiting room and I was dehydrated and weak. (No food or water after midnight.) I nearly passed out. I remember looking around and wondering if I was about to die. The world was going dark and I was hot and unable to think or breathe. The nice nurse helped me lie down, blew cold air on me and put cold water on my forehead. After several minutes I felt better and was able to be transported back down to Health & Performance Center for the surgery.
The anesthesiologist wheeled me into the operating room and I remember seeing the bright room and it started to spin and I said "you already gave me the medicine, didn't you? He said yes. And that's all I remember.
After the surgery I was released that same day. I didn't get nauseated bad at all, which is a first for me. I did get a horrible headache that lasted two days. That got better when I stopped taking the prescribed pain meds and started taking my regular headache go-to, BC Powder.
The excisional biopsy resulted in a two inch incision across the top of my boob and a half inch incision along the side of my nipple. The half inch incision was to repair where Dr. Tormey dropped the cauderizer that burned me while she was performing the surgery. I was back at work two days after the surgery as it was mid tax season.
No comments:
Post a Comment