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| Get your mammogram girls! |
Bad News
Several months later I feel a lump and call the doctor to arrange a follow up mammogram and an ultrasound. They still come back inconclusive, so it's off to a biopsy. The doctor says, "it doesn't look like anything to worry about, probably just a cyst." So, I was surprised when it came back positive.
Yikes, what now? My personal doctor sets me up with appointments with a surgeon and an oncologist. She says treatment is usually several months of chemo and or radiation. That means we have to cancel all travel this year ... again. The world stops ... again. Luckily, we've gotten accustomed to staying home and we have a wonderful home. All is ok on that front.
Luckily I'm old enough to be on medicare, so at least we don't have to worry about the financial burden.
I have several friends right now going thru breast cancer at various stages. It's not fun, but it's doable. It's definitely survivable. So I'm not worried. I go to the surgeon and arrange a date - April 8. Then I go to the oncologist ...
Good News!
The oncologist was happy to see me. He likes patient visits where he has good news! We chatted a bit, he looked at the biopsy results and tells me that the cancer is so tiny that the biopsy procedure got rid of most of it. The surgery will surely get the rest, and I won't need any chemo or radiation therapy. Travel should not be a problem!
What a relief. I can breathe again. I have a hard time believing it. We think about our summer travel plans again - put them back on the calendar.
Bad News
Just as a precaution, since I have a history with asthma, I'm scheduled for a chest xray and visit with a pulmonologist. I breathe just fine - haven't had any bouts with asthma in many years. Should be smooth sailing.
Not so fast. I'm told the Xray shows a spot on my lung. Once again inconclusive - don't know what it means - but I need a CT scan before they'll clear me for surgery.
stay tuned ...
Good News
I had my surgery on April 8 and all went well. The final pathology came back April 21 and all was clean, including the sentinal lymph node that they removed for testing. I will still have a follow up visit with the Oncologist and the Surgeon, but all looks good. No chemo, no radiation, just a daily pill (Tamoxifen - for 5 years)
The CT scan for the spot on the lung showed nothing. Maybe it was just a spec of dust on the xray? No one knows, but I'm good to go. We are planning our travels this summer to present seminars at two big RV rallies in Wyoming in July.
