Highly Probable. Dark Humor. Can My Cat Handle This?
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I shall join in too! June 17th, 1st doctor visit and referral for ultrasound and biopsy. I had a lump i found, and i really thought it was benign. Friends of mine said they had them and they were often benight. 6/22 blood test. All my cholesterol numbers were great!!! Wasn't that a great sign!!! I did not spend the time which was less than a week for initial diagnose living in fear. Really what i did was say to myself..."Are you kidding me God". 60 years old, no kids, menopause at 41.
July 1 i had my mammogram and 2 days later my ultrasound. I got a call that day that they would add in the biopsy after the ultrasound and the two would team to do it together. Mine was in the 6 o'clock position and according to the info was a 5cm. Having never been in the hospital, the whole experience was like "Really". Am i really laying her on a table having a biopsy? I did not go to the dark side. I just thought the gig is up. Cancer does get my family. Will i have it? Once the PA at my new doctors said "Cancer" a bit of time later, I said "Are you kidding me?". I honestly never thought i would get that kind of cancer. I am small breasted!!! Ha Ha! Mom had passed from a few things and had breast cancer she never told us about. She made it to 86.
Was referred to City of hope and July 14th contacted i had an appointment on July 20th. Breast cancer surgeon. From that moment till i had my first chemo, i had an MRI, Bone Scan, CT scan and a genetic test, done by City of Hope COH. Cancer it was and when the genetic test came August 12th, my initial chemo to start on the 13th was moved to the 14th, as i was just diagnosed with BRCA2 and the chemo was being changed. FEAR????? No. Not overwhelming. I have a friend in Texas that had just been through a year herself. She is straight forward and matter of fact. Hers was stage 4 metastasized, and she was at MD Anderson in Texas!! You can do it she said. One dose at a time. Today, April 23rd, i find it hard to remember exactly as my days were a day at a time. Chemo turned out to detrimental to my health at the end of December, so i am now on targeting pills. My surgery happened as well.
i had a left mastectomy early Feb to remove the tumor and a right mastectomy will come once my blood clot scare is over. Having a medical team i trust and great insurance has made my journey manageable. Great close friends, my 2 sisters and bc.org with real people walking the same journey. Blessings to all.
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katg, thanks for the sharing. It helps to relieve a lot!
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melbo - thanks for your insight. When I've pictured myself going through chemo, on the one hand I've seen myself in absolute agony and misery on a fairly constant basis, wasting away and totally devoid of all joy. Dramatic right?
On the other (less dramatic) hand I've seen myself feeling like utter garbage to the point of being unable to do anything at all, but that brings me a lot of anxiety too. I'd like to be able to continue to work; I have a job I love and I would like to keep it basically forever. I'd also like to be able to at least have a laugh here and there or do a few things that are important to me throughout.
I haven't askedquestions about chemo experiences in this thread as I know that would be meant for the thread dedicated to the topic, but it's nice to know that it might be easier than my brain is envisioning it to be.
I appreciate your thoughts and insight.
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sarahmaude - all of what you said makes total sense. And I suppose if we are going to increase screenings and encourage them at younger ages it’s easier to do the mammogram and ultrasound.
I can’t believe you were allergic to the dye! Did they have an alternative that could have been used? That seems so scary!0 -
katg- your story is incredible. As a person who has struggled for most of my adult life with anxiety, I’m fascinated by others who can look at that sort of situation and face it without being overwhelmed by fear. And I’m so glad you shared it.
During the fairly constant fear I carry, there have been moments that I have tried to tell myself that whatever I have to face, I’m going to try and draw some bravery for myself through the stories I’ve read from other women. It makes me feel like I’ll be standing on their shoulders.
My biopsy is tomorrow. Hopefully it will go well
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jh40,
Don't worry about biopsy, it is very commonly practiced today. By the way, I think you already booked the appt with your doctor to talk the result? I will call them tomorrow to get my appt at first, MO is super busy,
Pray for you.
Cathy
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As the saying around here goes, you don’t have to be brave, you just have to show up.
Chemo isn’t a picnic, but Usually it isn’t as awful as people fear. And if it is bad, tell your MO, there is lots of meds to help.
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spookiesmom,
Thanks! What you said made me comfortable.
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jh40, I’m not actually not allergic to the dye. My hunch is that the person inserting the needle (on a Tuesday) got a mediocre stick. I saw it bleed back into the tubing, and she just taped it up and made it work. The IV was exactly in the crook of my arm. Then I laid on my stomach with my arm bent at the needle stick for the next 45 minutes.
On Saturday I felt a slight bruised feeling in my arm above my elbow. On Sunday my whole arm hurt, so I consulted Dr. Google and thought I had a superficial clot. Treated with heat and Tylenol. On Monday it was somewhat worse. Called the breast center and they said it was likely superficial thrombosis and to treat it with heat and Tylenol, and to call the next day if it was worse. That night, I couldn’t sleep it hurst so much. It seemed to be the worst constant pain in my life. The next morning I called back. At first the nurse sounded a little impatient and repeated the instructions I’d been following. I emphasized that it was much worse. They were able to get me into ultrasound almost immediately. There, we found out I had two completely blocked veins, one was a DVT and my jugular vein was partially blocked.
At that point, my BSO and MO who I had yet to meet, coordinated with the radiologist and came up with a plan. Instead of my scheduled MRI guided biopsy, they did another ultrasound guided set of biopsies on the suspect masses. I then started Xarelto. I also followed the advice of the radiologist and took some Vicodin I had from breaking my arm a few years ago. Within a day I’d say the pain subsided by 70%. I’m going to say, that in my case, the MRI was more harm than good. The suspicious masses were benign artifacts likely from the recent core needle biopsy.
I think what happened to me was really rare. Since the ultrasound showed the origin of the clot was the needle stick and all my bloodwork is completely normal, the MO who is also a hematologist, says I don’t have a clotting problem. But regardless, I’ll be dealing with the aftermath of this for at least 4 more months.
I love getting blood draws now. (Not!) Left arm is where I had my lymph node removed. Right is where I had the DVT. My RO said the left is the least risky right now.
I will say, though, that the phlebotomists at my cancer center are totally amazing. I’ve had blood drawn three times and not even a tiny bruise.
So that’s my story of the unfortunate breast MRI, a gift that kept on giving.
If I hav to have another one, I’ll ask for the IV to be in my lower arm. I’ll also ask that someone very good at doing IVs place the needle.
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Just had my biopsy. It went well. It wasn't painful. Just strange pressure. At the end it felt like I would faint but I didn't. The radiologist said it was a vasal nerve reaction?
The radiologist who did the biopsy said that the tumor looked high grade to him, and that likely an MRI would be ordered. He said my lymph nodes looked ok, but to him it looked like it was already invasive. I asked him if he thought it's be possible to get clean margins if I'm eligible for a lumpectomy, and he said he felt it would be possible but he said the mass is kind of far back. It's not growing into my chest wall but it's near the muscle, but still in breast tissue.
Is it possible to know all this from the ultrasound guided biopsy??
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Also there were some comedic outtakes during the biopsy:
While everyone was watching the doctor get the vacuum hose all hooked up to me, I started asking the staff by name if they were doing ok. “Lots of long faces in here...” They all laughed and said they were ok.
“Hey Doc, how many samples are you taking?”
“I’ll be taking 5.”
“Sure you don’t want the whole thing? I certainly don’t need it.”
And when I almost passed out:
“Sorry for all the drama everyone. Can someone keep my partner ABREAST of the situation in here?”
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jh40, I think it's amazing what they can tell with the ultrasound guided biopsy. They were very close to what I ended up with in mine. What amazed me is how much the surgeons depend on the imaging and radiology. With my lumpectomy, they used mammography to place wires (wire localization). They marked for locations that essentially laid out what the surgeon removed. I was glad that my BSO went back after they initial marked area was removed for more tissue. Essentially a reexcision at the same time as the main surgery. Without that, I would have had one close margin. With her going for extra, I had great margins.
Also agree that the location of the tumor will come into play. Your surgeon should have MRI results to help her with answers to your question. My tumor was close to the skin, so I lost some, and she did a great job moving my nipple to hide the loss. My lumpectomy side's nipple is slightly higher than my healthy side.
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jh40,
It is good that you spent biopsy well, moving forward. It is good that the doctor told you so much info, I am in Canada, they did not tell me right there, then waiting is dreadful with lots of weird thoughts, and waste of time.
The biopsy will tell how your tissue is, the hormone receptor,.. I think that is standard, you can study it during this week, ready to discuss with your doctor to settle down treatment plan.
I am calling my cancer centre to get appt after biopsy, their line is busy, did you get yours?
Take a break today. Pray for you.
Cathy
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cathy67- thank you so much. I’m praying a lot. I’m praying that it has not spread to my lymphs and that it’s not TNBC. I’m praying for a good prognosis. Really scared of the results though.
This radiologist was not the same one who looked at my first images. He was new. I was sad that he said it looked high grade but maybe it hasn’t spread and was caught early enough
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sarahmaude - the radiologist placed the marker in the mass today. I also found that fascinating that you don't just open someone up and the cancer is obvious, that they rely on images so heavily.
Even though I can feel the lump in my breast (12:00 position) they tell me it's pretty deep in there. I find that odd as well since I can feel it, yknow? Seems it would be closer to the surface.0 -
what I think is pretty standard is they will call fairly soon with the yes/no cancer news, then you will find out a few days later what the cancer profile is. I had my biopsy on July 14th, got the “yes it’s cancer” news on the 16th, but didn’t learn about the profile until I saw the surgeon in the 21st. I was still mostly okay from the 16th to the 21st because I kept telling myself that maybe a little surgery and some radiation and that would be it. I was pretty shocked when the surgeon told me I would need chemo. But as I said earlier — while it did suck (a lot) it was also not as bad as I imagined. I was never hospitalized and most of my side effects were in the annoying, but tolerable column.
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