Friday, November 13, 2015

Being In Limbo Can Be Frightening, No Matter The Diagnosis

I’ve recently been reminded what it feels like to not know exactly what’s going on. To be told, “We found something and want to do more testing. You are scheduled for a procedure next week...that’s a lot like going to the dentist.” To sit in a consultation room shortly after the doctor leaves, pull out your iPhone and google the words she used, and begin to process what you’ve just been told.

Reality check

Last week I went in for my annual mammogram following which I received the standard all-clear in the form of a check-box report. No abnormalities detected. But since my breasts are very dense and I’ve developed lumpy bumpy cysts in recent years, my nurse practitioner had also ordered ABUS (automated breast ultrasound) which is a newer technology that can detect abnormalities in dense breasts that are not seen on mammogram. Ironically, my breasts were too large for the machine to be effective so the traditional hand-held, manual testing was done instead.

Besides the cluster of cysts in the right breast, the ultrasound unexpectedly found two solid masses in my left breast which is what prompted the brief meeting with a radiologist to schedule a core needle breast biopsy in a week. The biopsy took place on Tuesday afternoon and I was told that the report from the pathology lab should be back in 3-4 business days, probably by Friday. Not too long of a wait.

Read this post in its entirety:
Being in Limbo Can Be Frightening

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