I found a lump (lump is such an ugly word isn't it?) on my right breast recently. I'm kinda cysty/lumpy.... so usually I don't worry too much about little bumps and lumps... but this one I visibly saw when I was taking off my sports bra (arms raised way over head, contorting slightly as we all have to do in order to get out of those things).
I called my doctor, she saw me right away, gave me the order for my first mammo (since I'm under age 40 I haven't had one before) and an ultra sound at the state of the art Breast Center in my area. She also referred me to a surgeon. Hmmm. That scared me. I LOVE my doctor though, trust her, and know she is very thorough.
I called to make the appointment for the mammo/ultrasound and they couldn't get me in until December 30. Ok. I took the appointment. I called my doctor's office to make sure that date was OK... she basically said, "No. Try to get in sooner." Gulp. OK...
I call the Breast Center back and told them it was my first mammo and ultrasound, I'm kinda scared, my doctor wants me in ASAP.... is there any regular mammo that you can bump to December 30th and I can take their spot? Sometimes you just have to ask nicely. They helped me out and got me in within days.
Alright so I go in for the mammo and the staff is fabulous. The mammo technician is super friendly...but as soon as I take off my shirt she is able to see it, says, "Oh yes, there it is," and puts a sticker on it. Hmmm. A sticker on my boob. Ok. I find this slightly comical. It is supposed to help them see it in the mammo. OK... but still, there's a sticker on my boob and now it's being squished flat between two pieces of plexiglass. Comical.
Then the ultrasound. So now that my poor little lump has been squished and pressed on with the ultrasound wand... it's pretty darn sore. It was a little sore before (but probably just from me messing with it since now I was suddenly aware of it).
The specialist says it looks like a benign looking inflamed lymph node. I wasn't really expecting this, I was expecting cyst... so I didn't really know what to ask. He was very informative though and said that when there's a little bit of fat in the middle of the lymph node it's a good sign. When there isn't any fat in the middle of it, it's a bad sign.
But.... with that being said... he said he's pretty certain it's a lymph node. If it's not, what is that fatty looking middle area? Hmmm. I don't mess with cancer. It doesn't fight fair. My doctor referred me to her own personal breast surgeon, and I am meeting with him next week to have that little sucker biopsied and most likely just taken out.
I'm not a professional in anyway, and this is only my very first mammo and ultrasound... but I don't like the words, "Seems to be," or "Look like," or "Fairly certain." People make mistakes...doctors included. These tests are great... but if it can't rule out whatever swelling I have 100%... I want some certainty and I just want it out. When it comes down to it, this is my body and it's my responsibility. I want the little bugger out of my body if it's acting suspicious. Clean and simple.
If it was a different organ, like if we were talking hysterectomy, that would be different. But I have lots of lymph nodes that can do the job if that is what this actually is. So I feel really good just getting it out of me. :) Hope this helps someone else who is going through something similar! Best advice I can give ---- LOVE your doctor. If you don't LOVE your doctor, find one you do LOVE.
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I found a lump (lump is such an ugly word isn't it?) on my right breast recently. I'm kinda cysty/lumpy.... so usually I don't worry too much about little bumps and lumps... but this one I visibly saw when I was taking off my sports bra (arms raised way over head, contorting slightly as we all have to do in order to get out of those things).
I called my doctor, she saw me right away, gave me the order for my first mammo (since I'm under age 40 I haven't had one before) and an ultra sound at the state of the art Breast Center in my area. She also referred me to a surgeon. Hmmm. That scared me. I LOVE my doctor though, trust her, and know she is very thorough.
I called to make the appointment for the mammo/ultrasound and they couldn't get me in until December 30. Ok. I took the appointment. I called my doctor's office to make sure that date was OK... she basically said, "No. Try to get in sooner." Gulp. OK...
I call the Breast Center back and told them it was my first mammo and ultrasound, I'm kinda scared, my doctor wants me in ASAP.... is there any regular mammo that you can bump to December 30th and I can take their spot? Sometimes you just have to ask nicely. They helped me out and got me in within days.
Alright so I go in for the mammo and the staff is fabulous. The mammo technician is super friendly...but as soon as I take off my shirt she is able to see it, says, "Oh yes, there it is," and puts a sticker on it. Hmmm. A sticker on my boob. Ok. I find this slightly comical. It is supposed to help them see it in the mammo. OK... but still, there's a sticker on my boob and now it's being squished flat between two pieces of plexiglass. Comical.
Then the ultrasound. So now that my poor little lump has been squished and pressed on with the ultrasound wand... it's pretty darn sore. It was a little sore before (but probably just from me messing with it since now I was suddenly aware of it).
The specialist says it looks like a benign looking inflamed lymph node. I wasn't really expecting this, I was expecting cyst... so I didn't really know what to ask. He was very informative though and said that when there's a little bit of fat in the middle of the lymph node it's a good sign. When there isn't any fat in the middle of it, it's a bad sign.
But.... with that being said... he said he's pretty certain it's a lymph node. If it's not, what is that fatty looking middle area? Hmmm. I don't mess with cancer. It doesn't fight fair. My doctor referred me to her own personal breast surgeon, and I am meeting with him next week to have that little sucker biopsied and most likely just taken out.
I'm not a professional in anyway, and this is only my very first mammo and ultrasound... but I don't like the words, "Seems to be," or "Look like," or "Fairly certain." People make mistakes...doctors included. These tests are great... but if it can't rule out whatever swelling I have 100%... I want some certainty and I just want it out. When it comes down to it, this is my body and it's my responsibility. I want the little bugger out of my body if it's acting suspicious. Clean and simple.
If it was a different organ, like if we were talking hysterectomy, that would be different. But I have lots of lymph nodes that can do the job if that is what this actually is. So I feel really good just getting it out of me. :) Hope this helps someone else who is going through something similar! Best advice I can give ---- LOVE your doctor. If you don't LOVE your doctor, find one you do LOVE.
December 22, 2011 - 8:09pmThis Comment
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