And then there was one

I was all excited when my oncologist said that I could get by with a lumpectomy and lymph node removal. The surgeon agreed, but the radiologist didn't. There were calcifications in another quadrant of the breast that were suspicious for cancer. My surgeon and I talked and decided that the best way to make a decision was to have a needle biopsy of the calcifications and determine whether they were cancerous or not. Then we could decide on whether a lumpectomy or a mastectomy was to be performed.

The procedure was scheduled 2 weeks later, allowing my blood counts to recover. While this was happening Paul whisked the kids and I over to Norfolk, Virginia, close to Virginia Beach. While Paul worked at the Navy he had a contract with, the kids and I played in the pool and on the Chesapeake Bay beach. It was wonderful, warm and very relaxing. We all sucked up a bunch of Vitamin D and enjoyed the change of scenery and no real schedule except to get Paul to and from work.

After returning from Virginia I went in on Tuesday for the needle biopsy, lying face down on a table with my boob hanging through a hole and my head turned to one side, and told not to move while they made the biopsies and took x-rays - for a half hour. When I was finally able to move, I didn't notice my breast, it was my neck that was killing me!! Due to the chemotherapy treatments I bleed easily and the technician had to clamp down with her hand on my breast to try to get my bleeding to stop. After several minutes she made a call into the other office and asked if another tech would please come out and spell her as her hand was cramping. So I then had someone else grasping my breast and applying pressure with another tech running in to ask if they needed her, too. Great, a bunch of women wanting to hold my boobs. I told Paul about this later (he was not allowed to watch the procedure due to the radiation from the x-rays) and he said that he could have helped squeeze my boobie with no problem. :)

Today I received a call, while at work, from the surgeon telling me that the biopsy came back positive for ductal carcinoma in situ and thought that the best procedure for me was to do a mastectomy along with lymph node removal. :( I lost my cool and blubbered over Toyin's shoulder until I regained my composure. And all for a damb boob that hangs too low. Sheesh.

I am to show up at the hospital at 10:30 a.m. Friday morning - 8/08/08 - where I will then proceed to have my surgery at 1 p.m. along with a lovely overnight stay including meals at the relaxing Providence Hospital.