What a Week

By Tuesday, November 18th, I still had not gotten any further with the doctors' offices, nore the insurance company. So I called the healthcare advocate that our union had bought into last year. Within an hour they had me on the phone with a breast surgeon's office at Mather Hospital's Fortunato Breast Care Center. In minutes of speaking with them, I had an appointment for Wednesday morning at 10:15. Called the substitute service for another 1/2 day off and called the first two parents on my conference list just in case my appointment ran late.

Dr. Borden took a good amount of time going over all my films, explaining each one as he went along. He then did a clinical exam and couldn't find the lump that way, but he did find a swollen lymph node under my left arm. Then, he used his ultrasound to find the lump in my breast. He marked it on the pictures he took. Then, he said that while I went back to work, he would bring all my films over to the Fortunato Breast Care Center to have the radiologist there look over everything.

An hour after leaving his office, he called. Of course, I missed the call because my phone was in my pocketbook, and with everything I've been through with phone calls and doctors, I did not expect a call that soon. I called back and his service put me right through to him. Dr. Borden told me that I had to call Fortunato for an appointment the next day. They were going to do a stereotactic biopsy.

Fortuato gave me an appointment the following morning at 9am. They explained the sterotactic biopsy, too. While laying face down, They would compress my left breast, and take some mammographic type pictures. Then, once the nodule was found, they would begin to insert the needle--numbing me as the needle goes in.

The nurses-Colleen and Lorraine, and radiologist-Dr. Michelle Price, were all wonderful. They talked me through each step of what they were doing and told me that if I felt anything at all to tell them and they would administer more lidocaine. The last minute of the test I was a bit uncomfortable but it was over soon enough. The worst part was laying there belly down with my face to the side. My neck was in agony after--and I have to wait until Monday before I have therapy again.

Friday at 1:10, I received a phone call from Fortunato letting me know that the pathology came back positive for cancer. I was, surpisingly, fine. I think that I was expecting this anyway. I was told to set up an appointment with Dr. Borden (who was in surgery) which I did for Tuesday, Nov. 25th at 1:45. Dr. Borden called me back at 2:45 to give me some more details. Bad news: the cancer is invasive (Cassie looked this up--it means that it has already spread into the surrounding tissue). Good news: it's only .6cm in size, and it's borders are differentiated (whatever that means)--which suggests to the doctor that it's estrogen positive (easily treatable). I'll know more on Tuesday when he goes over the full pathology report. He will also be doing a biopsy on that swollen lymph node under my arm.

So, overall, I'm feeling okay. I keep waiting to 'lose it'. The only time I get upset is when I tell other people and they get upset. But, crying is good sometimes as well.

Say some prayers please.