I called
Rosemark as soon as they opened at 8 am and got in at 11am to see Melissa Bates
for an exam because of my concerns about the lump. She was doing the manual exam, starting on
the left side, just talking about random things. When she got to my right side she started doing
the exam and as soon as she got to the upper 12 o’clock area where the lump was
she stopped talking and shot me a surprised and concerned look on her
face. I don’t think she did it on
purpose. I think it was more of a
shocked reaction. I said, “Yep, that’s
it.” She finished the exam and she went
out to the nurse’s desk. They called
around and found a radiology place that could get me in at 3 pm to do a Mammogram
and Ultrasound that day. They also
arranged for an appointment with Dr. Brad Smith (surgeon) tomorrow at 3:15 pm.
I decided to
head down to Blackfoot and get the studs off of the car and then drop the tires
off at Mom and Dad’s while I waited for the appointment. I unfortunately confused the times for the
appointment, thinking it was at 3:15 (the time for the appointment tomorrow). I called them on the road and apologized that
I would be about 15 min. late. They said
they didn’t know if they could see me since they had worked me into the
schedule in the first place and that I would have to wait and see if they could
get me in. This was NOT a good time to
have had that mix-up! I was so angry at
myself! I picked up a booklet about
Breast Cancer in the waiting room and started reading it.
They got me
back to the Mammogram but said they might not be able to get me into the
Ultrasound. The lady was really snippy
with me…put on the gown… take off any deodorant…sit in this room and wait. She took me back and after the first slide she
started calling me “Honey” and was being much more compassionate. That’s when I knew something really was
wrong. After I was done she said to
leave the robe on because I had an appointment with Ultrasound. I was taken to another room to wait and read
some more of the Breast Cancer booklet.
The Tech in
Ultrasound took the images and then said the doctor usually likes to come in
and look at them. I have never had that
happen before. I’m referring to having
several Uterus ultrasounds which revealed multiple cysts and fibroids, some
measuring 16mm, resulting in long heavy periods and a uterus that was 4x the
usual size. The doctor came into the
room and looked at the image then he sat down.
He had looked at the mammogram I had gotten at the end of September and
said it was totally clear, there had been nothing there. The tumor today measured 2.6 cm on the
ultrasound and looked kind of like a heart.
He said it was “perplexing” and I needed a biopsy. I asked if he could do it today. He was getting ready to go on call but he
said he would have time to do it. The
tech and nurse got me all ready and he came in.
He first tried to aspirate (draw fluid) the tumor. I could see the needle trying to penetrate
the wall like pushing a needle slowly against a balloon and it finally broke
through. He was unable to get any fluid
out of it. He then proceeded to take 5
core samples. It didn’t hurt but it was
uncomfortable and strange to be watching the ultrasound, seeing the needle go
in, hearing the snap to cut the end of the core, drawing the tube back out. After the last 3 of the 5 cores he would look
at the core and say, “That is so strange.”
I ended up leaving about 5:15 pm.
I drove to
Rexburg to visit with Rachel. I
mentioned the lump and biopsy to Rachel, but I tried not to make it seem very
serious since I didn’t know anything definitive at that time. I had such a good time playing with Braxton
and visiting with Rachel and Terrance.
