Thursday, September 21, 2017

Lumpy Breast or Breast Cancer?

Today is an anniversary of sorts for me......

Exactly one year ago, I was at my Primary Care Physician’s office trying to convince her assistant that I did INDEED need a referral for a diagnostic mammogram.

I was taking a shower when I realized that my right breast was feeling really heavy compared to my left one. I immediately did a self-breast exam. I could not believe what I was feeling-not a tiny lump, but a huge knot in the bottom portion of my breast. HOW was I just noticing something that BIG?? I just stood there frozen for what seemed like forever. And then I promptly finished showering-got dressed and called to make an appointment with my PCP. I was told that she would not be in the office for a few days, but after I explained the situation (and possibly begged a little bit), I was told that I could see the PA  that same afternoon. I wasn’t thrilled about seeing the PA because when dealing with her on a couple of previous occasions, I felt that she was a bit “incompetent.” However, I needed to see someone to get the referral. I didn’t want to wait.

I was so shocked when the PA sort of laughed after examining me and said, “It’s NOTHING. You have lumpy breasts. The left one feels the same way.” NO, lady-it does NOT! I usually tend to trust what medical professionals tell me (well-up until then I did,) but I KNEW that I needed a diagnostic mammogram and I insisted that I get that referral! This woman made me feel silly and somewhat hysterical for insisting, but I stood my ground on this one, and I can’t tell you how glad I am that I did.

After receiving the referral, I made an appointment at the Gwinnett Breast Center. First up was the diagnostic mammogram, which is a bit more painful than the normal mammogram, and it took much longer. The technician took a LOT of images and then took them to be examined by their doctor, after which she took MORE images. She then took those in for the doctor to see and was told to take even MORE images. At that time I was escorted back into the waiting area to find out what the next step would be.

I have to say that although I was very anxious, the staff at this Breast Center were so kind and accommodating-offering warmed blankets, beverages, snacks, and kind words that made the wait somewhat more bearable.

Then came an ultra-sound, followed by waiting for the doctor to look at the results. And then the doctor came in and did another ultra-sound herself. Things started to get a bit blurry around this time, because my fears were starting to be confirmed, even without actually hearing the words. The technician who did the mammograms was especially kind, and we chatted quite a bit during my trips back and forth from the waiting area to different examining rooms, and after the last round of images she had to take, she looked at me, grabbed me and gave me a hug. And that was when I knew for sure.

When I left the Breast Center, I was given a referral for a breast biopsy and written on the paper were the words-Highly suspicious for breast cancer.

After the biopsies (one on my breast and another on the lymph nodes under my arm), I was told that I would see my surgeon on October 3rd for the results. October 3rd was a Monday, and I have to say that it was a VERY long weekend.

Monday, October 3, 2016
As I sat with Ray in Dr. Quill’s examining room, I was wondering exactly HOW he would tell me that I had cancer. Up until that point, no one had said those words to me. I also wondered if he would tell me I was going to die.

As it turns out-Dr. Quill was very matter-of-fact. He walked into the room and said, “So, you are positive for breast cancer.” He didn’t give me very long for that to sink in before he said, “Are you ready to fight this thing?” I vaguely remember babbling something about how I had no choice…..I had a 15 y/o at home, a daughter in college and other kids and grandkids and that I HAD to fight! He then said, “Good-this thing is curable. We are going to fight it with every weapon available-chemo, surgery, and radiation. The treatments are going to suck, but we can do this." He then explained the expected treatment protocol and said that I should see Dr. Saker, my Oncologist right away so that we could get started immediately. And so the fight began.

Chemo

Have you ever doubted and/or questioned a medical providers diagnosis or advice? Have you ever found out later that you were misdiagnosed at your doctor’s office?

I believe that we have to be our own patient advocates. We need to listen to our bodies, ask questions, do research and if at all possible with something potentially serious-get a second opinion.

So today, September 21, 2017- I CELEBRATE! No, I'm not celebrating the fact that I found a lump in my breast one year ago. I'm celebrating that I stood my ground, got the proper diagnostic tests done and started my journey toward healing!


Friday, September 8, 2017

Good News (mostly!)

Good morning, Y'all!

I have some good news to share today! I received the results from my CT and bone scans and there was no cancer showing on either one! It seems that the pain I have been experiencing is due to a small (ish) fluid filled cyst. The cyst was most likely caused by my surgery. The doctor said that for now, he's hoping that it will get better with the use of a heating pad and some exercise. If it does continue to get bigger I will have to see a surgeon so that he can drain it with a needle, but hopefully, that won't be needed.

The scans also showed that I have a cyst on my pancreas and a gallstone.WTH?? Anything else??! Anyway, the doctor didn't seem too concerned about either and said that they are just something we need to keep an eye on. Today I'm doing a bit of research on both gallstones and pancreatic cysts to see if there is anything I can do to prevent them from becoming a bigger issue. Maybe a change in my diet?? We'll see. 

I mentioned in my post on Wednesday that I had been in a bit of a funk, but I'm happy to say that I am feeling much better emotionally today! Obviously, a big factor is the good news about my scans, but the other reason is that I got outside for a walk on this glorious, cool, sunny day!




As much as I've missed getting outside for a walk or jog, I'm pretty impressed with myself for getting out there today! I was so tired this morning and didn't have a lot of energy, most likely due to the fact that I was up later than usual watching my beloved New England Patriots getting their butts kicked.

NOT how that game was supposed to go!





I only went 1.18 miles and it felt like 18 miles, but I'll take it!!

I'm hoping to get some mileage in this weekend because I have to get ready for that upcoming Paint Gwinnett Pink 5k!

I will be praying for all of those who have been affected by Hurricane Harvey and those who are being or will be affected by Irma. We have been told to expect some stormy weather here in the Atlanta area early next week due to Irma, but it's still a little unclear as to how much of the effects we will feel.

Do you live in a place that's being affected by either of the hurricanes? Let me hear from you.

Take care and stay safe, Y'all!
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Wednesday, September 6, 2017

Sunshine Tomorrow

Hey, Y'all! It's been awhile!

I really did intend to write something sooner, but I've been in a bit of a funk and didn't want to write a post that was full of whining and complaining. I guess I was waiting for the storm to pass so that I could write a happy, sunshiny (is that even a word??) post. Today I realized that it might take a bit longer than I would like for this storm to pass. Since my blog title sort of indicates that my life isn't always filled with sunshine (whose is??), I thought I would go ahead and share some things that are going on in my life right now.

One morning about a week and a half ago I woke up with a lot of pain in my upper right shoulder and back. I thought maybe I had slept in a weird position, causing the pain and that it would get better after being up for awhile. Unfortunately not only did it not get better that day,  but it got a little worse each day after that. I finally called my PCP to see if I could get in to have her take a look. She was out of the office the first day I called, and on the second day of not getting a call back from her, I decided I should call someone at my Breast Center. By then I was also having problems with numbness in two of the fingers on my right hand as well as a lot of pain in the area where the surgeon removed the eleven lymph nodes.

My Oncologist was out of the office, and I saw his assistant. The PA spoke with my doctor after examining me, and together they decided to have the CT and bone scans that I was scheduled to have the end of September moved up since I was now having these symptoms.

So, today I went in for my scheduled scans. I had to be at the hospital at 8:30 am so that I could have some dye injected into my veins. I then went in for the CT scan which didn't take very long and was only slightly uncomfortable. The bone scan could not be done until 3 hours after the dye was injected, so I had to hang around the hospital for quite awhile.

I have had many different scans done since being diagnosed, but this was my first bone scan-not to be confused with a bone density scan!

I was told that a bone scan can reveal bone problems associated with:

  • arthritis
  • bone cancers
  • cancer that has spread to the bones from other parts of the body
  • fractures
  • infection involving the bone

The bone scan was a bit more of a challenge for me because I had to lay flat on my back for 25 minutes and it was a bit uncomfortable, especially with the pain in my upper back. Also, WHY is it that when you have to lie flat on your back without moving, everything starts to itch, you have to cough, you get cramps or something to make laying there so much harder?! Anyway, I made it through without too much squirming, and now I just have to wait for the results.

As stressful as the back and hand issues have been, the REAL stressor has been the fact that my insurance has been canceled and I am now paying out of pocket for all medical care, including the scans that were done today. I won't go into all of the gory details because I would be ranting for DAYS, but I will say that it's a shame when the stress of dealing with insurance issues is more stressful than having breast cancer.

It hasn't helped that I haven't been able to get out for any real walking, much less running since this back issue began, because exercise is such a great stress reliever for me, as I'm sure it is for most of us. I'm really hoping to be able to get out tomorrow since my back is feeling so much better and I don't have any doctor's appointments or anything.

Now that I have shared some of the reasons I have been in a bit of a funk and uncommunicative, I will leave you with something that popped up on my FB feed a few minutes ago.......



May we all enjoy some sunshine tomorrow!