I will not post very much here. I just want to keep one more place where everyone can be kept up on what is going on. In June, LadyBug went in for her first Mammogram. She was 43, and felt she had put it off too long already. The results showed several masses, which appeared to be just fibrous material that is common and benign.
She was referred to a WONDERFUL doctor up north who did more exams and determined the same thing. She told her that she had several options: 1) Wait and see what happened over the course of the next six months; 2) Biopsy the lumps and decide later; or 3) Remove the lumps and be done with it.
LadyBug chose option number 3, and went in for surgery in August. All three lumps were removed, and biopsied. The results came back as expected--they were non-cancerous fibrous tissue. We were relieved, but not too surprised. After all, this is what we had been told to expect.
Six weeks later, LadyBug began experiencing pain in her left breast, a few inches away from any incision. We called our doctor, who put her on antibiotics, thinking it was an abscess. After a week or so, we called the surgeon's office. She was out of town, but one of her associates agreed to see us. After several types of exams, we were told it was most likely a hematoma or an abscess. This doctor really didn't seem to interested in anything other than getting us out of the office. He gave her stronger antibiotics, and was asked to contact him if there were no improvements. There weren't.
When we went back, Dr. Doesntgiveacrap saw us again and said, "Oh, it looks smaller! Good! That means the antibiotics are working!" He told her that all her other symptoms were basically figments of her imagination. So we went home, feeling like we had completely wasted a long trip, plus copay.
A few days later, Dr. Wonderfulsurgeon came back into town, saw that her disinterested associate had seen us and called to get LadyBug in for a visit. She wanted to see for herself what was going on. She did an ultra-sound exam, and saw the mass, which she assumed was either infection, or a hematoma. She suggested we should return in a couple of days for another surgical procedure. We agreed.
After a three-hour wait in Pre-Op, and a thirty minute surgery, the dr. came to speak with me. She did not find a huge amount of infection OR a hematoma, but instead, found a small amount of infection surrounded by what she called "angry tissue." She cleaned out the infection and scooped out some of that "angry tissue," which was biopsied.
Friday morning, Dr. Wonderfulsurgeon called at 10:30 to speak with LadyBug. She had just gotten the results back from the biopsy. "Angry Tissue" turned out to be cancerous. She set an appointment for Tuesday. We don't know what to expect, but have been on the receiving end of Relief Society dinners, well-wishes, and Fasting and Prayer by many of my students and friends. Things like this really let you know what is going on! And let's you know what really matters. We will know more Tuesday, but I have appointments every day this week because of this, so I don't know how soon I will get onto this blog. I will try to keep my family informed as soon as we know anything (although I don't think I have cell numbers for everyone yet...).
3 comments:
Breast cancer like this, that is caught early on, is highly treatable. I have no doubt that things will work out good in the end. But we have fasted and prayed for her too! :)
She is in my prayers, too, and has been ever since I heard about her problems. I think that the fact she was so adamant about having the surgery in the first place is a good sign that things will go well and she will beat this. Do keep us informed, though!
I agree with Inklings and Delirious and want you to know that we remember her in our prayers too. We love you both.
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