The Big C...
A couple folks have been following the unfolding drama on Facebook but, just to catch you up, 6 months ago I found a lump in my left breast. Ever since I got to meet my bio-mom and she let me know about her recent battle with breast cancer, I've been a bit more cautious. I was over-due for my semi-annual mammogram and the lump scared me into gear.
Imagine my surprise when the "lump" on the left turned out to be nothing but they found "something" on the right. I was told to track down my old scans from a previous doc/clinic so they could do a comparison. Was this a new something? Or something that has always been there and just disregarded. Fine. It wasn't easy tracking down my baseline scans. The clinic had been sold and changed hands a couple times, but we got them!
The bad news? Mystery spot was not on my old mammo. Oh boy. So the nice folks at the Breast Cancer Center at Morristown Memorial told me to come back in 6 months for a new scan...to see if anything changes.
Fast forward 6 months to my follow-up, which was yesterday, and guess what. The mystery spot is still there, but it is unchanged. Good news, right? Well, not entirely. They want me to come back AGAIN in another 6 months.
I was really hoping to be let off the hook. Just a friendly and reassuring smile with a "There's been no change, so we think you are ok. It's probably nothing." But no. I am on the hook for another 6 months of worry. *sigh*
I know it could be worse. I've been considering getting the genetic testing done to see if I have the breast cancer gene. Not that I really want MORE to be worried about, but forewarned is forearmed.
I am sore and stressed, but I want everyone out there to remember to examine your breasts each month. Boys and girls both! Yes, men can get breast cancer too! So feel yourselves up. Go ahead. Don't be shy. And if you are, um, mature like me, go for doc recommended mammograms. It's not fun, but hey...it's easier than a colonoscopy. But that is a topic for another day.
Imagine my surprise when the "lump" on the left turned out to be nothing but they found "something" on the right. I was told to track down my old scans from a previous doc/clinic so they could do a comparison. Was this a new something? Or something that has always been there and just disregarded. Fine. It wasn't easy tracking down my baseline scans. The clinic had been sold and changed hands a couple times, but we got them!
The bad news? Mystery spot was not on my old mammo. Oh boy. So the nice folks at the Breast Cancer Center at Morristown Memorial told me to come back in 6 months for a new scan...to see if anything changes.
Fast forward 6 months to my follow-up, which was yesterday, and guess what. The mystery spot is still there, but it is unchanged. Good news, right? Well, not entirely. They want me to come back AGAIN in another 6 months.
I was really hoping to be let off the hook. Just a friendly and reassuring smile with a "There's been no change, so we think you are ok. It's probably nothing." But no. I am on the hook for another 6 months of worry. *sigh*
I know it could be worse. I've been considering getting the genetic testing done to see if I have the breast cancer gene. Not that I really want MORE to be worried about, but forewarned is forearmed.
I am sore and stressed, but I want everyone out there to remember to examine your breasts each month. Boys and girls both! Yes, men can get breast cancer too! So feel yourselves up. Go ahead. Don't be shy. And if you are, um, mature like me, go for doc recommended mammograms. It's not fun, but hey...it's easier than a colonoscopy. But that is a topic for another day.
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