Yep, there's something there!

Sept. 21, 2009 is the first available appointment with my regular doctor. I've been thinking about this nasty thing for about 10 or 11 days now...trying to convince myself that it really wasn't there...I was just imagining things...but no, it was still there, like it or not. Well, good! Dr thinks "it feels cystic"...probably not a tumor....yeah! That's what I wanted to hear. But we'll set you up for a mammogram and ultra sound right away to be sure. Right away at Magan Medical Center is October 8 so here we go again, hurry up and wait. Of course no one there would give me an opinion so it's wait for the doctor to call with the results one more time. Low and behold, my doctor calls that very same day to say yes, there definitely is something there and now we need to do a needle biopsy. Doesn't that sound pleasant? She'll get her office to get this moving as quickly as possible. I can't keep the secret any longer...but what's the use in telling anyone...so I just confided in a couple of my closer friends and asked them to kind of keep it under wraps til I knew for sure.

October 12, 2009 I still haven't heard anything from the doctor about the needle biopsy so I jumped in and started making phone calls. More than once I had to call Magan x-ray, the doctor, the diagnostic lab, the radiologist, the insurance and you all know how it goes...every phone call has an on hold time of at least 10 minutes and everyone is blaming the lack of communication on someone else. I wanted to scream. Just settle this, now! Finally, late that afternoon, my doctor calls with the bad news...."it is a tumor". It's about 1.8 centimeters, approximately 3/4" x 1/2" x 1/2". (I don't have all my information really clear at this point...but I'm pretty sure this is what my doctor told me from the radiology report)...we still needed to do the needle biopsy at this point in time. In the meanwhile I started checking into information to see if it was possible to go to City of Hope. It is, but it's not easy when ones insurance isn't set up for it. I talked to a very nice lady from C of H and got all the information on how to go about seeing if I could switch over. There wasn't one question I asked that she didn't know the answer. It's just amazing how kind and thorough and understanding the people at C of H are and then one has to deal with the staff at Magan, and the local doctors offices staffs of whom, many, really don't seem to even know why they came to work today, let alone have any interest in you as a patient.

After calling the diagnostic lab to make the appointment for the needle biopsy....getting a date of Oct. 19, 2009, once again it was hurry up and wait. Then about 3 days after making the appointment they called me back and decided the tech wasn't going to be in that day and changed it to Oct. 22, 2009. My friend agreed to drive me there and wait for me and listen to me whine. The actual procedure only took about 12 minutes and I watched on a little TV like screen. I could see the tumor and theneedle inside the tumor. Very little pain or discomfort, of course it was deadened with a local. He told me I would hear a click and this would be the needle grabbing hold of a piece of it. He also said something about the tumor didn't want to let go of it...and he had to tug a little to get the needle out. He took 3 specimens and said that was all he needed and that it would be sent to Glendora Foothill Presbyterian Hospital lab for diagnostics. He said there are 17 steps to developing it to the state of reading it and that it would take a least a day so since this was Thursday, I probably wouldn't hear anything until Monday. Keep ice on the injection site and don't use that arm for a day or two. My friend and I had lunch and came home. Afternoon is upon me and still no pain...thank goodness. Well, now that the shot is wearing off...maybe enough for a couple of Tylenol but that's about it. Sleep tight dear!

Friday, October 23, 2009....my doctor called at 3:40 p.m. stating the results are positive. My exact comment was "Oh s--t! does that mean malignant?" She wants me to see a surgeon, Dr. Timothy Chong on Monday 10/26 to discuss it. Is this really happening? How did I get here? Sometime before this point I had informed my daughters of my plight and a few more close friends...but for some reason I still felt that this whole thing was going to turn around and not be so....no need to make a big deal out of it...everything's gonna be ok!.