Post 10 - Stereotactic Biopsy.

February 22, 2011 (Tuesday) - back on schedule for my annual mammograms. Appt. 9:00 a.m. I arrive, get called back promptly, complete mammograms & was then informed "the radiologist will look at the scans this afternoon & we'll give you a call." This thru me for a loop, because prior, my scans were always looked at while I waited & I had my results immediately. Every single time. I have never been sent home & waited for my results. I questioned this & the tech informed me it was because I was back to regular mammograms. So, ok. Maybe not receiving results immediately was the norm & I didn't know it because I've had prior issues. Nonetheless, prior to this visit, I had an inclination my tests would not come back clear. I was correct.

February 23 (Wednesday) - I receive a call that the radiologist was requesting more scans. The lady who phoned & I kind of got into a little tiff - I told her I was a little tee'd that I didn't receive my results immediately & should I have, I would have known this information yesterday & probably could have performed the additional scans while there. Obviously at that point she scanned my paperwork & put the blame on me, stating I didn't fill out in the paperwork that I had had prior issues. I thought that question (on the paperwork) pertained to issues before being seen at their facility - so I did not note that I had had issues in the past. And shouldn't they have that information? 80% of testing had been performed at their facility. Anyway, we scheduled an appt. for the following Monday. After our phone conversation, I decided I didn't really desire to wait until Monday, so I phoned & changed the appt. to Thursday (tomorrow) a.m. That particular lady I spoke with was so sweet & so helpful - we discussed some of my situation, scheduled the appt. & hung up.

Fast forward to Wednesday afternoon. Dr. J, the radiologist, phones. His call certainly thru me for (another) loop as I wasn't expecting his call & I did not request him to call. Someone must have relayed to him that I was perturbed I didn't get my results yesterday, so he called to explain why he was wanting more scans. Basically, he told me there had been subtle changes & he needed more scans to see what was going on. He told me he was not freaking out - but wanted to be safe than sorry. He told me he was quite confident he would be scheduling a biopsy because if not, I would always be a "diagnostic". Prior to this visit, they have exhausted all other avenues & now with changes occurring, it was finally time to get to the bottom of it. I agreed with. He was very pleasant & said he'd see me in the morning. I appreciated him calling.

February 24 (Thursday) - I arrive by 9:15 a.m. for my appt. & they took me straight to the back. No waiting at all. Performed scans. He required additional scans. Performed additional scans. He required even more scans. (Now keep in mind, I am not a typical case, so finding my mass can be very, very tricky & challenging = measuring, changing out equipment, different angles, etc.) Performed additional scans, again. I have to say, this is the first time ever I felt pain during the mammograms. She got me good this time but hey, whatever. You do what you have to do. I went out to wait while Dr. J evaluated the recent scans. (Let me throw in a little funny here - after all my scans were complete, the sweet tech looked at me & said "so, you from Weatherford?" OMGosh! Yes I am! I mean really. How sweet. A girl I don't know (or I don't think I know!), who thinks she knows me (& she does, but can't place where from), had just been manhandling my hoohoos. Lovely. LOL)

As soon as I sat down, here came another tech. Dr. J now wanted to perform a sonogram (that makes 3 sonograms total), so off I went. The tech got me prepped & in walked Dr. J. I must say, as much as I detest male doctors, I really like him. I think he is thorough & I trust him. He walked in & exclaimed "hi buddy", shook my hand & then performed the sonogram. He then asked the tech to "freeze" a certain shot, told me to clean up & he'd be back. He came back in & began to talk. Basically, he was totally uncertain because my case is so rare. In very few scans, there have been changes & my mass looks suspicious. In other scans, it (mass) is completely gone (which is good news, really. From what I understand, "bad" masses typically show up in all scans, not select). But the bottom line is - there have been subtle changes since my 1st mammogram 2 years ago & changes aren't a good thing. Now, what to do about it. I had 2 choices: continue mammograms every 6 months (or sooner) & keep a good, very close watch on this or, perform a biopsy. He said it really didn't matter to him (reason being, he really felt like this was not a cancer situation but without a biopsy, there's no way to know), but he leaned towards the needle biopsy so we would finally have a direct answer & could put this matter to rest. He also added that because of the circumstances surrounding my mass, it was possible that once on the table, they would not be able to locate the mass (because it only showed in certain scans) & if that was the case, there would be no biopsy. Can't do a biopsy if he can't locate the mass. I asked him who would perfom the biopsy & he replied he would be doing it, so I asked him how many he's done & if he's experienced. ;o) He said he's done a few thousand - so we hemed & hawed around & finally agreed on a biopsy. We scheduled it for next Wednesday, 3.2.11 @ 1:00 p.m. (they only perform biopsies in the afternoon). This would buy me some time to check with our new insurance company on deductibles, etc. Evidently a needle biopsy is quite expensive. We said our goodbyes & I headed to get dressed to come home. Let me stop here & add - the lady who scheduled the biopsy informed me she was the one I spoke to on the phone yesterday. I apologized, telling her I just was unhappy about not receiving my results. About that time, she looked down & noticed my Gynecologist's name & made the comment "I can't believe she didn't approve a diagnostic mammogram for you". I think this is where the confusion came in. Mammograms have to be approved by a dr. or insurance won't pay. Because I was released last year, my Gyno phoned in a regular mammogram, not a diagnostic mammogram, which is what I need due to past history. Thus, I did not get results immediately. The lady was very nice, kept calling me "sweet thing" (heehee) & off I went.

Just as I was exiting the dressing rooms, the tech ran to find me. She caught me just in time. She informed me that if I had the time, Dr. J wanted to put me on the table just to see if he would be able to locate the mass. I told her I had no problem with that but, if he put me on the table & was able to locate the mass, I wanted the biopsy done. Now. That, she wasn't sure about. #1. they don't perform biopsies until afternoon. #2. he was booked #3. typically insurance won't pay unless there is advance notice. After she took me to the biopsy room, she headed out to check on those 3 things. Btw, I very much disliked the biopsy tech. & needless to say, we did not get along.

The biopsy room held a long table (with a hole in the middle) & lots of equipment. She informed me that she was going to take some scans just to see if she could indeed locate the mass. I climbed up on the table, followed her directions & laid down (on my stomach, of course). She wanted my face flat on the table (on my cheek, rather), as I had to hold completely still. I did not want my face flat on the table. I can't lay like that. So every time I tried to slide my hand under my face, kind of to prop it up, she snapped at me. So I snapped back. Blah, blah, blah, she located the mass immediately. Dr. J came in, they looked at the computer, exchanged some medical terms, & he told me he'd be back. She then took a pen & traced on my chest exactly where the equipment was to go (just in case she couldn't locate it again). I got off the table, made some snide remarks, she snapped a bit more & then tech who assisted with the sonogram came walking in. She informed me my new insurance rocked - all I had to pay was a co-pay, they approved the biopsy & would cover the cost. We were set. From what I could tell, the biopsy would be performed right then. Because they were unprepared, they had some prepping to do. In came the 1st tech (who thinks she knows me) to assist with the biopsy. They asked me lots of medical questions, made some notes; I sort of paced the room (wish I would have taken a photo), did some Facebooking (hence my status update :) - the gripey chick kept telling me I could sit in the chair, I kept telling her I didn't want to, so I ignored them & did my own thing. If I discovered one thing about me during this time, it's the fact that I don't ever sit/hold/stand still. Even though I don't realize it, it appears that I'm constantly moving or swaying or rocking or wiggling my feet or fidgeting my hands or something. I guess I was doing this on the table & that's why the tech was getting perturbed.

After about 10 minutes, back on the table I went. I did make it clear that if she let me put my hand under my cheek during the procedure, I would hold completely still. She didn't answer me so I did it anyway. :) I did keep asking her to pull my jeans legs down because my ankles were showing & I hadn't shaved my legs. She kept telling me "I don't care, I'm not looking at your legs, I'm looking at your boob!" & I'd replay "well, I do care!" She was so aggravating. Anyway, she located the mass once again & in came Dr. J. They again looked at the computer, exchanged medical terms & it was time. I couldn't see anything (literally - I had to take my glasses off & they put them over on a chair - should have worn my contacts that day so I at least could have seen the clock!), but I know the girls put alcohol & some other junk over the incision spot. Dr. J told me everything he was doing step by step - I really couldn't tell you now what it all was - I remember him telling me I'd feel the needle, then he'd tell me he was injecting numbing medication, he asked me a few times if I felt pain or pressure, if I was ok, etc. Finally, he told me he was going to extract about 9 (I think) samples - a loud compressor machine came on & he began extracting. The very last thing he did was insert a metal "marker" at the mass spot so in future scans, it will always be present & they will know that particular area has been biopsied & addressed (or something along those lines). I wonder now if I'll always beep going thru security. :)

When he finished up, he verified my name printed on my medical vials - to which I informed them they had written down the wrong name (haha) - he laughed, said he'd call me Monday & out he went. I had to lay on the table for quite some time due to bleeding. Once they ok'd me to get up, I sat up & almost rolled off the table. I was totally dizzy. I guess that's normal. They put 4 tiny bandaids on my incision & told me to leave them on for about 4 days (they fell off as soon as I got home ;o), told me I could not get the incision wet for 24 hours (which I laughed at because I had a Gyno appt. bright & early Friday a.m. - of course I needed a shower) & they also got me an ice pack. I am no wimp & certainly don't need any ice pack.

After the biopsy, guess what I got to do? More mammograms! LOL That felt great! Blah. Finally, I was done. As I was leaving, I told the girl to call me if she remembers how she knows me. I also told her I didn't like her boss (the gripey one in the biopsy room). Heehee. :) All in all, I think the procedure took about 15 minutes? It wasn't bad, but it's not really something I'd volunteer to do again. Soon, anyway. Ü

Friday a.m. I arrive at my Gyno office. I so love her & have been with her about 20 years now. Boy howdy, I sure tortured myself this week! Ending the week with my Gyno appt? Woohoo. Sheesh. When Dr. R first walked in the room, she didn't even say hello. Her first words were "I am so glad you had this biopsy done - enough is enough!". She was right. :)

Friday afternoon the phone rings. It's the sweet lady who scheduled my biopsy appt. (before we decided to proceed with the biopsy that morning) - my results were already in. Once again, I can't really recall all that she said but what I do know is that there is no cancer. That said, I do now have an official diagnosis. Can't tell you what it is (after she said "no cancer" I kind of zoned out), but I do recall her saying it is more than likely genetic & that this probably won't be my first rodeo. Meaning, this is probably going to be a somewhat long road for me, but whatever. I'm tough & I can take it. She told me to sleep well this weekend & that she'd phone me next week informing me when I need to go back - hopefully now that the biopsy is complete I can wait a year, but who knows.

And that, hopefully, ends this particular journey! God is good. Ü